W. Java suspends principals' overseas tour after protests

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

The West Java education office has decided to suspend the controversial overseas study tour for officials and state teachers amid growing concerns over the high cost of education in Indonesia.

The decision came on the heels of mounting protests from parents and councillors against the planned visit to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, which was scheduled for Aug. 20 to Aug. 27.

Bambang Sutrisno, head of public education at the provincial education office and the initiator of the plan, said the trip was postponed because some of the principals had withdrawn from the tour.

In addition, the Bandung administration and the local legislative council had banned 20 principals and the city's head of public education Rita H. Abdulkadir from joining the trip, Bambang said.

He said on Tuesday the trip was not canceled, but merely delayed indefinitely. "It will be rescheduled if conditions allow, and if it receives approval from all sides." He insisted that the study tour was aimed at improving the quality of education in West Java.

The itinerary of the so-called study trip only included a single visit to one school each in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, and otherwise appeared to be dominated by recreational programs, like shopping and tours to the Raffles statue, the Singapore River and Chinatown.

After visiting Singapore, the tour would leave for Bangkok to visit West Arun and Pattaya, and to see the Tifany Show, the Bencing Show and the Thai Girls Show.

The participants were to then fly back to Singapore to visit one school before continuing on to Malaysia, where they were to visit one other school before they left for the Genting Highlands, a popular gambling resort.

Parents and councillors in Bandung still maintained that the trip should be nixed, as it was only a waste of money. They criticized the educators for lacking sensitivity toward growing concerns over the high cost of education, which has further burdened parents in the crisis-riddled country.

"Parents have paid very expensive fees to state schools in Bandung -- around Rp 2 million each. Many parents have even had to borrow money so that their children could continue their education. But they (principals) feel no qualms about going on an overseas trip on the pretext of a comparative study," said Dana Setia, chairperson of the Bandung Education Council. The council consists of educators and parents.

At least 38 principals of state senior high schools (SMU) and 24 officials from the West Java education office were to have taken part in the comparative study, with their expenses to be fully funded by their respective schools.

Bambang said his office would reimburse the Rp 8.5 million paid by each participant for the trip.

"We will wait until the situation has cooled down, because many parties oppose the comparative study tour," he said.