Teachers need help in handling trouble makers

JAKARTA (JP): A government official defended on Thursday school teachers' inaction in dealing with problematic students.

"Who can guarantee the safety of teachers outside school after they reprimand or punish undisciplined students," said Sri Sudono, head of the Ministry of Education city office, at a press conference.

Sudono was responding to media reports that teachers had not done anything to address the problem of students who were involved in gambling, drug abuse and brawls.

Even security at schools cannot handle the situation, said Sudono, who was accompanied at the press conference by some City Police senior officers.

Under a 1986 gubernatorial decree, all schools in the city must set up security teams, made up of students and school staff, including teachers and headmasters, to deal with problematic students.

Sudono reiterated that teachers need help from students' parents to tell them about activities at home.

Drugs abuse among students has received special attention from the public.

An anti-drug campaigner, Putera Astaman, said earlier that drug abuse has become widespread in Jakarta and other big cities.

The head of Bersama, a non-governmental organization, said that results of a Bersama survey showed that hardly any high schools were free of drug abuse.

Putera said the surveys even found incidents of psychotropic drug use at some primary schools.

He also said that several recent high school graduates were arrested June 12 for illegally possessing and selling heroin to school mates near school facilities in Kebayoran, South Jakarta. (03)