Teacher summoned for questioning
Evi Mariani, Jakarta
The Jakarta Police sent on Friday a second letter to summon teacher Nurlaila from disputed SMP 56 state junior high school, expecting her to show up for questioning scheduled for next week.
The police summoned Nurlaila on Thursday but she did not show up.
"We have summoned her as a suspect in allegations of illegal academic activity, as filed by the city administration," city police chief of special crime detectives Sr. Comr. Edmon Ilyas said on Friday. "She did not inform us of the reason behind her absence yesterday (Thursday)."
The administration reported Nurlaila and nine other former teachers of SMP 56, located in Melawai, South Jakarta, in April for allegedly allowing admission to the school without the administration's consent.
The administration accused Nurlaila and the other teachers of violating Law No. 20/2003 on national education, which stipulates all schools must obtain permission from the provincial administration.
Violators of the law will face a maximum 10 years in jail and/or a Rp 1 billion (US$113,315) fine.
SMP 56 opened registration for new students, and so far around 50 children have been registered at the school. They do not need to pay admission fees, tuition school fees for a year or a fee for uniforms, as those expenses will be covered by the Government Watch organization (Gowa).
Gowa chairman Farid Faqih said he supported the school in continuing with its academic activities, pending the final determination of ongoing litigation.
The administration has warned newly admitted and other students of SMP 56 Melawai that it would no longer provide authorized school reports if they continued to study there.
The administration, through the Jakarta Intermediate and Higher Education Agency, entered into a land swap deal with developer PT Tata Disantara in 2000. The site in Melawai was bartered for plots of land in East Cilandak and Bintaro, South Jakarta.
Teachers, students and parents opposed to the deal filed a civil lawsuit against it, but the South Jakarta District Court rejected their suit last December. The plaintiffs then appealed to the Jakarta High Court, but no decision has been handed down by the court as yet.