Wardiman downplays school fee hikes

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)