W. Java suspends principals' overseas tour after protests

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postponed because some of the principals had withdrawn from the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.