When Independence Day is more than just games ...
When Independence Day is more than just games ...
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Mothers, teenagers and children buzzed along an decorated narrow
alley alongside the Ciliwung river in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta.
There were red-and-white flags and bunting everywhere, just
like in any other alley in Jakarta in the days prior to the
celebration of Independence Day.
However, while other communities prefer to celebrate with sack
races or kerupuk eating competitions, the community dominated by
families in lower-income brackets opt for a slightly more serious
discussions on their children's education.
Here, the theories of "free education" met reality.
"How come we still have to pay a lot of money to our
children's school? The TV (news) said that the government has
made it free (of charge)?" asked Nyai, a mother of two school-age
children.
Her question found a cheering support from the audience
dominated by local housewives.
From her experience, Nyai, and most of the mothers attending a
community discussion on "Making Education Free" in front of
Sanggar Ciliwung Hall on Saturday, still find it difficult
funding their children's education.
The discussion organized by the local community, with the
support of non-governmental organization Sanggar Ciliwung led by
Romo Sandyawan, invited an officer from the Jakarta educational
agency and several educational activists to address them.
As Saefulloh, an education agency official, explained how much
the city administration had subsidized compulsory education in
order to make it free of charge, participants complained about
the burden that school fees placed on them.
"It is true that we do not pay monthly fees, but there are
other fees charged for examinations and books," said another
resident, Ramsah, naming other fees with names like "school
curtain fee" and "new student's donation".
It seems that in this free country, "free education" is still
far from reality.
"We are aiming to raise local awareness that they can do
something to fight for their rights, and for officials to have a
better understanding of the real conditions," said Sandyawan.
At the end of the day, the mothers went home knowing what to
say to school officials when asked for fees. And city bureaucrats
received an education about the need to monitor schools to ensure
that citizens got their rights to a free education. (004)