Wardiman downplays school fee hikes
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro countered queries yesterday on hikes in public school fees by calling them just another case of legal loopholes being exploited.
"How come you all make such a big fuss when a school is expensive? You never do that when parents buy expensive Kijangs," Wardiman told journalists who had tried to question him on the hikes.
They tried to question the minister after legislators in House Commission IX on religion, education and sports had raised the issue of school fee hikes during a hearing with him.
"The regulations are clear enough. Such levies are illegal but I admit there are parties who take advantage of the regulations' loopholes," he said without saying what the government intended to do about it.
He said that if parents were asked to pay such fees they should report them to the proper authorities.
The official entrance fee for Jakarta high schools is Rp 45,000 (US$18.75), excluding monthly tuition. Parents may also be asked to pay a maximum additional fee of Rp 60,000 ($25) for their uniform.
But in practice these fees can multiply several times.
Golkar legislator Marsetio Donoseputro recounted her own personal experience: "I have a chauffeur who cannot enroll his child at a high school because of the choking levies. When I checked with the schoolmaster he said that a student should pay Rp 500,000 ($208.3) before entering. And this is common in every public senior high school in Jakarta."
Legislators at the hearing also took a sharp look at the government's superior schools program in remote areas.
Legislators warned that superior schools, originally designed for talented children, such as one in Abepura, Irian Jaya could be problematic.
Willem Maloali of the Golkar faction warned that the public high school in Abepura had negative political side effects.
"I do not agree with the existence of a superior school in Irian. In my opinion, we should first concentrate on lifting up the quality of regular schools," said Willem, an Irianese reverend.
Willem indicated that the rigid selection for entry to the school "could lead to nepotism and favoritism".
The school, SMUN 2 Abepura, in Merauke regency, on the eastern tip of Irian Jaya, 10,000 km east of Java, has superb educational facilities including student dormitories.
But it sharply contrasts with the condition of other schools in the province.
"It would be better to establish free-of-charge schools than superior schools. That's more like Pancasila," Willem said.
Golkar legislator Sutari Imam Barnadil also criticized the Abepura school which she visited earlier this year.
"The buildings are impressive but I think it is the only thing being considered. There seems to be no attention to the handling of the students staying in the dorm. I arrived at about 2 p.m. and what I saw were students dozing around without any supervision," she said
Minister Wardiman defended the program saying he would like to see "all schools be superior schools. But we can't do it in one stroke. We have to go one by one. We want the best students to be given a chance."
After the hearing Willem told The Jakarta Post that he was unsatisfied with the minister's explanation. "I do not want to see the Irian community fall into class distinctions. The superior school in Irian will definitely have negative impacts on the unity," he said. (35)