Yapemda school looks bravely to the future after bus tragedy

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

More than a week has passed, but the grief is still palpable at the SMK Yapemda I vocational high school in Sleman, Yogyakarta.

The outpouring of grief has practically halted teaching activities even though the school decided not to close in the days following the accident last Wednesday.

Aside from the 51 dead students, two teachers, a bus conductor and a tour guide also perished in the tragedy.

Some students were seen helping their teachers greet guests visiting the school to express their condolences or present donations.

Meanwhile, others just stood around or sat in front of their classrooms watching the arriving and departing guests.

Near the entrance to the school's west wing, a board has been erected on which the photographs of the dead are posted, along with their names. "Heroes of SMK Yapemda I Sleman" is written on top of the board, with violets and orchids placed next to each of the photographs.

Suwarna, the chairman of the Yayasan Pembinaan Generasi Muda (Yapemda) -- the foundation that runs the vocational high school, said that they would not stop educational activities for long.

"We have been forced to temporarily stop teaching, but we cannot do so for too long. We are going to resume teaching as soon as possible," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Sleman regent Ibnu Subiyanto, who met with the school management on Thursday, expressed the same opinion and suggested that the school distinguish between teaching activities and events related to the tragedy.

Otherwise, Ibnu said, the students would never be able to leave the pain behind as guests coming to the school to express condolences would only remind them of the accident.

"We plan to have everything back to normal again by the end of this week. We will ask the teachers and other staff members to receive the visiting guests and let the students go back to class. That way, hopefully, we will be able to resume teaching by Monday (Oct. 20) at the latest," Suwarna said.

Headmaster Edi Wibowo shared Suwarna's view, saying that it was important to maintain the discipline that for long had been the trademark of the vocational high school.

Discipline, according to Edi, was one of the school's defining characteristics -- something that had encouraged many parents in the region to send their children to the school.

"We have as our mission the producing of mid-level, ready-for- work, skilled employees. We consider discipline to be the basic factor for doing this, besides the skills that they learn here. Only disciplined students will become disciplined, skilled employees.

"Thank God, we have never received complaints either from the students' parents or the companies that employ Yapemda alumni," Edi said.

Study tours, usually to destinations outside the province, are compulsory for the high school's second graders. The destination is always decided through a poll involving all the students.

Over the past years, study trips have been organized to Surabaya (East Java), Bandung (West Java), and Jakarta, but never Bali.

"I don't know why, but most students chose Bali this year," said Edi, adding that study tours were important to broaden the students' horizons and would continue despite the fatal accident.

Besides classroom teaching and study tours, each student is also required to gain practical work experience in stores, home industries, factories or other businesses. This is required of third graders and is aimed at preparing them to join the workforce.

Established in 1968 by co-founders Tulus Eklas (one of the victims of the Situbondo tragedy) and Suparjo, the Yapemda vocational high school has so far produced some 4,000 graduates.

Many of them work abroad as skilled workers with electronics and garment producers in Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei Darussalam and Taiwan. Others work for similar companies in Jakarta, Tangerang and Batam.

"This year, we sent some 100 of our school's graduates to Malaysia," Edi said.

The school's success in finding work for its students has greatly increased its student population, making it a favorite among lower middle class families.

This is why, unlike other private high schools in the region, which are currently finding it difficult to attract students, Yapemda was recently able to provide six new classrooms for first year students. One classroom can accommodate an average of 40 students.

"Most of our students come from the lower middle class. This is because our fees are relatively low for a private vocational high school, even in this outlying area," Edi said.

To enroll in Yapemda, new students are only required to pay an admission fee of Rp 100,000 and a monthly fee of Rp 23,000. These fees cover everything, including lab practicals. The students are not required to pay any additional fees.

Located in Tanjungtirto hamlet, Kalitirto village, Berbah sub- district, Sleman Regency, some 10 kilometers out in the eastern suburbs of Yogyakarta, the Yapemda vocational high school presently has 48 teachers, 13 of whom, including the headmaster, are civil servants assigned to teach in the school.

At present, the school has 18 classrooms, or six each for first, second and third grades.

However, as a result of the accident, one classroom for the second graders will likely be closed.

Fifteen percent of the some 700 students currently studying at the school are on scholarships provided by the school, or private or corporate benefactors.

"We have been financially self-supporting for years. Since the accident, more and more organizations and individuals have committed themselves to helping fund the school," Edi said, while expressing the hope that everybody would learn something from the tragedy.