Sutiyoso prohibits schools to take admission fees

Sutiyoso prohibits schools to take admission fees

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso has prohibited state schools from
demanding fees for new students during the upcoming admissions
period.

"During admission, schools must not charge anything, including
disguised fees that in the end require students to pay up if they
want to be admitted," he said on Thursday.

"The student admission regulations clearly state that new
students will only be required to pay 'voluntary contributions'
to the schools after they are admitted."

Sutiyoso promised to punish any school administrator who
violated the rule, depending "on the severity of the violation".

The government regulation stipulates that a civil servant can
be reprimanded for a violation -- ranging from a warning to a
dismissal.

He called on the public to help monitor the admissions process
to curb possible corruption.

The Jakarta Elementary Education Agency deputy head Maman
Achdiyat said the agency had asked school principals not to ask
for any fees before Aug. 6.

"We call it a 'clean period'. We require them not to talk
about money to parents admitting their children until after the
deadline," he said.

Maman claimed that the agency had yet to receive any reports
about schools violating the regulation. However, some local
newspapers have reported that many state schools had charged
parents up to Rp 10 million (US$1,109) for admission of their
children.

He explained that the schools could start discussing admission
fees with school committees, which are supposed to include
parents, to decide upon the amount of their contribution to the
school. He added that the contribution amount must be decided
upon in the meeting and the parents must agree.

The Jakarta Post contacted two parents who have children in
public junior high schools, but they said there had not been an
announcement yet on the required admission fees.

"I have been invited to meet with other parents tomorrow
(Friday) but I don't know the topic of the meeting," said Rani, a
resident of Curug, Tangerang.

Councillor Ahmad Heryawan of Commission E for the people's
welfare said school administrators must establish a school
committee that accommodates parents with various social
backgrounds.

"If the rich people dominate the committee, then the interests
of the poor students will not be accommodated. The committee must
not make the fees too high or the poor students will not be able
to pay," he said.

Heryawan also pointed out that because of the larger state
budget for schools this year, the fees/contributions must be
significantly reduced.

The Jakarta administration has allocated 17 percent of its
budget for education, much higher than the average allocation of
other provinces of 3.49 percent nationwide.

I-box
Monthly subsidy from city budget for each public junior high
school:
Annual operational costs : Rp 2,000,000 *
School helpers : Rp 1,500,000
Stationery : Rp 500,000
Utility bills : Rp 300,000
Cleaning services : Rp 105,000
*only given once per year

Source: Jakarta Elementary Education Agency