Teachers' textbook scams increase fees, dropouts

Teachers' textbook scams increase fees, dropouts

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung

Some 30,000, or three percent of all elementary and junior high
students in Lampung province, are forced to drop out of school
each year due to the ever-increasing cost of education,
particularly school fees and books.

Teachers have also played a key role in pushing the dropout
rate up via a dubious book-selling system.

The secretary of the Indonesian Teachers Dignity Forum (FMGI),
Gino Vanolie, said that book procurement had become a profit-
oriented scheme perpetrated by teachers in elementary and junior
high schools, creating an insurmountable burden for many students
and their families.

Students are being forced to buy textbooks from teachers, when
they actually could borrow them from older students or from the
school. "We also found out that students were forced to leave
school because they were ashamed when teachers asked them to pay
for the registration fees they couldn't afford. Such fees could
reach Rp 300,000 to Rp 400,000 per student," said Gino.

Nine-year-old Ersa, a third grader at an elementary school in
North Telukbetung area in the city of Bandarlampung, said that
she was too embarrassed to go to school because she had not paid
the registration fees. "The teacher also forced me to buy the
books from him," said Ersa.

Rony, 40, the parent of a girl studying at an elementary
school in West Tanjungkarang, Bandarlampung city, acknowledged
that his daughter was once suspended for not paying for books.
"There were 10 in her class that were sent home," said Rony.

Many schools have even begun renting books to pupils, Gino,
who is also a teacher, acknowledged. "Textbook rentals have also
burdened poor parents. Students will not be allowed to attend
classes if they don't rent the textbooks," said Gino, who also
teaches at High School No. 10 in Bandarlampung.

The head of the Lampung Education Office, Chaerul Thabranie,
said that the amount of assistance allocated for needy students
by the provincial administration was not enough to cover the cost
of retaining potential dropouts.

Lampung currently has over 900,000 elementary and junior high
school students.

For 2004, the office has allotted Rp 47.464 billion (US$5
million) to help students at risk of dropping out of school
through the Special Assistance for Students (BKM) program.

A total of Rp 28.6 billion (US$3 million), or 60 percent, is
allocated for elementary to high school education, Rp 12.7
billion or 27 percent for higher education, Rp 4.5 billion (9.5
percent) for sports and Rp 1.5 billion (3.2 percent) for cultural
programs.

In the initial stage of the program, Rp 33 billion of the
funds, derived from the fuel subsidy scheme, will be provided
directly to the students.

The amount of subsidy allocated for each needy student is Rp
120,000 for elementary school, Rp 240,000 for junior high and Rp
300,000 for senior high.