Unbridled student brawls

Unbridled student brawls

From Merdeka

I totally agree with a Jakarta mayor's suggestion to put
wayward students, constantly involved in school brawls and on
drugs, on the blacklist. Next to that, village and district
chiefs should be instructed to note down the identities of
students frequently involved in acts of vandalism. However, I
feel the above measures are not enough to solve this problem.

Apart from the uneducative aspects and the risk of raising
antagonistic feelings, students could always ask someone else to
do the job for them, or parents with connections inside a village
or district chief's office could have the job done in exchange
for a fee. It is no longer a secret that matters related to
village chief offices can be settled in a smooth manner, as long
as one pays up.

For this reason, it would be best if parents are punished as
well, besides recording the names of bad schoolboys. The
punishment could take the form of reimbursing the financial
losses caused by their children.

The delinquent children should report daily to the police
office for a certain period of time. If a child has killed a
schoolmate, for instance, parents of the victim have the right to
demand amends from the killer. Amends could range from the time
the victim started going to school until senior high school when
he was killed, in addition to a jail term.

In case the parents of the killer are poor, a longer prison
term should be demanded. These are only suggestions, since
student brawls still occur occasionally, which continues to be a
great concern to the society. Police and other security personnel
from the regional military command should conduct more frequent
patrolling in places where student brawls are highly likely to
occur.

RACHMAN S.

Jakarta