It's December, again. School children, including my kids, can't wait for the year-end holidays. They have arranged plans on what to do with their cousins. Staying away from school books is a must. And going to bed late, at least later than usual, is something they will ask for.
I have already told them to enjoy the holiday privileges which will end in two weeks. These privileges include starting school at 7 a.m. As a New Year's present, the Jakarta administration will impose a new policy of sending students to school half an hour earlier.
"Why do we have to leave home early?" my son, a sixth grader, asked.
"Because it's a regulation and you must obey it," I replied.
He didn't protest, but from the look in his face I knew he hated the policy.
The city administration claims that sending students to school early will bring about more good.
"Waking up early will bring more benefits. We should look at the positive side. The air is still fresh and it's good for the kids' health," deputy governor Prijanto said.
The early bird gets the worm, you say. But kids might reply, yuck, no, thank you.
My children have to travel about 30 minutes every morning from our home in Pasar Minggu to their school in Tebet. The distance is only about five kilometers but the traffic is crazy. Going to school 30 minutes earlier means they have to leave home 20 minutes earlier than usual, at the latest. I suspect that leaving 20 minutes earlier will not mean fresher air for my kids.
How about those living far from their schools? Will the children have enough time to rest, considering the demanding academic pressure placed on kids today? It seems mounting homework, after-school courses and national final exams are still not enough for our children.
Unfortunately, 1.7 million school children in the capital -- based on data from the Jakarta Statistics Agency for the 2006/2007 academic year -- have no right to voice their objection to the policy.
It is not the children's fault that Jakarta's traffic has been mismanaged over the past two decades. After the three-in-one policy the city applied the busway system where Transjakarta buses had their own lanes, which were only to be overtaken by private motorists.
The adults managing the capital think the policy of sending kids to school earlier will help ease traffic.
"Don't ask the students. If we ask them, they will answer *why should we wake up earlier?' It's wrong to ask them, even more wrong to ask such a question," Governor Fauzi Bowo said in the administration official website beritajakarta.com.
Prijanto even came with an "Islamic approach" that children should wake up early to perform their morning prayer as taught in Islam.
These two Jakarta rulers have no problem in bracing the city's traffic as they are always escorted by police motorcades. They do not need to enter the turnpike only to find out that it is jammed.
It is true the government already provides state schools in residential areas, but many of them are of low quality. Therefore, middle-class families prefer to send their kids to private schools, which maybe located quite far from their homes.
The situation also forces parents to leave home early to drop their kids at school before heading to their work places. If the city administration knows that the main problem is the imbalanced ratio between the motorized vehicles and the length of roads, why should they "sacrifice" school children?
Fauzi visited Beijing for the Olympic Games last August, hence, he should know there were other ways to ease congestion.
The Beijing city administration have banned motorcycles inside the capital and applied a number plate system where drivers alternate days they can drive depending upon their license plates.
The Beijing administration answered its residents' need for public transportation by building eight subway lanes prior to the Olympics, helping commuters reach their destinations. The city will have seven more lanes in the near future.
What about Jakarta?
The planned monorail has dashed, the commuter trains are still not comfortable enough, while the busway starts to overcrowd. The city administration plans to provide school buses, but will there be enough for all students?
Still, private cars or motorcycles remain the most logical answer to meet the transportation needs of Jakarta. If the city administration insists on sending children to school half an hour earlier, parents will follow suit as it is impossible for them to go back home and go to work later on. The roads will remain crammed. So, what's the point of sending our kids to school early then?
-- Primastuti Handayani
We invite readers to contribute to this section about things happening in Greater Jakarta. Personal experiences, rants and protests are also welcome. Please send your story to city@thejakartapost.com. The article should be between 600 and 800 words.
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