Wardiman slams media over strikes

Wardiman slams media over strikes

BOGOR, West Java (JP): Minister of Education and Culture
Wardiman Djojonegoro yesterday blamed extensive media coverage
for what he described as the growing "trend" of student strikes.

"With such coverage by the media, especially television, such
trends easily spread across the country," he said after opening
the 34th meeting of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for
Tropical Biology here. The four-day meeting is being attended by
representatives from nine countries including Malaysia, Brunei
and Cambodia.

The ministry has identified a number of unwelcome trends in
the field of education, he said, including the yearly tradition
of students autographing their friends' shirts with colorful pens
as an expression of merriment upon graduating.

"Just wait, maybe tomorrow the students in Surabaya will take
their turn in striking," he said. He did not believe that
students launch strikes just because they have become more
critical.

"No, it's just a trend," he said. "Had they been critical,
they wouldn't have voiced their demands at the same time they
were holding the strike. People usually express demands before
staging a strike."

He condoned the involvement of security officers in handling
unruly strikers. "If the strikes disturb security and order, then
officers should take action to maintain security. If not, I don't
think it's necessary," he said.

Last month, students at three Jakarta state senior high
schools refused to go to classes or do any learning activities in
protest at a number of issues. Students from one school, for
instance, accused their principal of embezzlement, while those
from another school staged a strike to demand lower tuition fees.
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