Working group established to prevent student brawls

Working group established to prevent student brawls

JAKARTA (JP): A number of sociologists, psychologists and
experts from related disciplines have set up a working group to
help solve the escalating numbers of student brawls and other
juvenile delinquency in the capital, an official said.

Head of the Jakarta office of the Ministry of Education and
Culture Alwi Nurdin said on Tuesday that the working group was
established on the previous day in response to the recent
outbreak of offenses attributed to the city's students.

"The escalating criminal offenses of the students, ranging
from brawls to looting have become critical problems within
society here," Alwi told media after a handover ceremony of
educational aid from the Chinese government at his office in
South Jakarta.

The group, he added, "is currently in the process of
identifying the problems and formulating its action plan."

Prior to the establishment of the working group, the
ministry's office had also cooperated with the city police and
military headquarters to regularly patrol spots labeled those
most prone to such student misdemeanors, Alwi said.

The working group, chaired by Enoch Markhum, former director
for student affairs of the ministry, is designed as a pilot
project in the country to deal with these seemingly endless
problems.

"The ministry will later arrange similar groups in other
provinces.

In the past few weeks the capital has hardly passed a single
day without at least one student brawl.

Many efforts had been made by the city authorities, including
seminars and raids. But none of these initiatives has been
sufficient to stop the students, who often used sharp weapons in
the street duels.

According to Alwi, this brawling usually involved students
coming from low-income groups.

"There are three factors which make students involve
themselves in such troubled behavior: family disharmony, school
conditions and the environment," he said.

Worsening economic conditions triggered greater problems, he
added.

"Many parents got laid off and have to strive to put food on
the table. Of course it affected family life along with
declining norms and values.

"In many schools here, teachers are also probably more
concerned about looking for extra money and many of them have
abandoned the students' moral and character building," Alwi said.

Each of the factors has contributed to the problems, which
should be dealt with soon by members of the working group, he
explained.

During the handover ceremony of the educational aid packages,
Chinese Ambassador Chen Shiqiu symbolically presented the
US$4,000 worth of science kits and 10 typewriters to Minister of
Education and Culture Juwono Sudarsono.

The packages are to be distributed to 30 elementary schools in
Jakarta. (edt)