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Letter: Do they really have standards?
Nowadays, we know that too many schools are being developed rather as centers of profit than of education
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Nowadays, we know that too many schools are being developed rather as centers of profit than of education. Many school managements only think how to collect as much rupiah as possible, ignoring the quality of their services.
They are taking advantage of people's concern about the poor quality of many state-run schools, but at the same time they do not think too much about the education quality of their institutions.
In Jakarta, many parents compete to look for national plus schools, or so-called international schools, for their children. But the facts show that importing teachers and curricula does not guarantee quality. These schools are only proud of charging expensive fees.
In one school, parents are consistently required to supply teachers' classroom materials because the school owner does not disburse sufficient funds to support the program. It is probably the case that the owners are too busy pocketing money for themselves.
In another school, some of the teachers are taken from foreign countries so that they can claim that they have an international standard of education. People are often easily cheated with such false brands.
They are proud that their children are taught by foreigners, but without taking into account whether they really have a sufficient background in education.
How can they obtain permits to operate here? Again, it may be about money. This means money is undermining the quality of our education system. This should be a concern for all of us.
The existence of schools operated by the private sector is important, particularly those which really offer a good quality education for our children.
Private schools, which only think about how to make money, should be prohibited from operating here.
Meanwhile, the government should not only think about how to provide the people with affordable and accessible education, but it should also think how to improve the quality of public schools.
SUSILO UMARDANI
Malang, East Java
