Wiranto promises to help secure Jakarta schools

Wiranto promises to help secure Jakarta schools

JAKARTA (JP): Military personnel will be deployed at selected schools, which are prone to students brawls, to teach students self-discipline, Greater Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Wiranto said yesterday.

Wiranto said in an informal coffee morning discussion with a number of senior high school principals that the presence of military personnel at posts built near such schools are badly needed.

The plan to deploy military personnel at problem schools is in response to a request from one of the school principals. The school heads were invited by the newly-installed military baton commander to discuss ways to resolve the chronic student brawls in the city.

"Monitoring the atmosphere at particular schools for too long a period may lead to an unfavorable outcome in the future," he warned, adding that the presence of personnel would be limited.

The students, who are expected to play a significant role in the future development of the nation, may develop a lack of responsibility towards their own future if they are continuously monitored, the two-star general feared.

"I could deploy any number of personnel requested by the public, but is spying and suppressing the students every day a remedy?" he asked the teachers. "Even I could not reconcile myself into accepting such a method," he continued.

The latest police data reveals that a total of 160 student brawls were recorded in 1994, with 10 students being killed, 79 wounded, 917 netted of which 795 were imprisoned, and at least 36 public buses damaged.

Among school representatives attending the informal meeting with Wiranto yesterday were principals from STM Penerbangan and SMA Purnama in South Jakarta, STM 12 and SMA 13 in North Jakarta, STM PGRI 4 and STM Negeri I in Central Jakarta and SMA 78 in West Jakarta.

The data shows that students from the above schools have been involved in several brawls, mostly with nearby schools. The brawls mostly take place in the afternoon with some of the students carrying guns, iron buckled belts, sickles and other sharp weapons.

During the discussion, the teachers informed Wiranto that the brawls stem from several factors such as gossip mongering, a lack of public transport, the large number of students in certain schools and the large number of students in a certain area.

The headmaster from STM 12 in Tanjung Priok told Wiranto that her students were frequently attacked by other groups of students on their way home from school. Students of the school are forced to get rides on the back of empty container trucks passing the area due to the shortage of public buses and other transport, she said.

A participant from Central Jakarta asked Wiranto to urge school operators not to build their schools in areas where there are already many schools.

"There's no guarantee of avoiding brawls in Central Jakarta if there are about 7,000 students from 19 schools in one location waiting for a limited number of buses," he said.

He made the plea because there are businessmen intending to build new schools in the middle of the city as "they believe that they can earn lots of money inside the city."

In response to the request, Wiranto vowed to seriously explore the case. He will also ask the authorities to operate more buses in the crowded area to serve the students.

"But I know that this will not entirely solve the problems of brawling. The answer also depends on the students' willingness (to stop brawling) with support from all of us," he said.

Wiranto, therefore, hoped that all student organizations at the schools would play an active role in helping their friends.

During the meeting yesterday none of the participants discussed the alleged role of the students' parents, especially those who are high-ranking officers, who always defend their children's actions.

"Student brawls will never be stopped as long as such parents, whose children often play a significant role in the fights, refuse to help us discipline their delinquent children," a senior police officer said.(bsr)