Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung | Tue, 07/07/2009 1:37 PM
This year, local parents are again relying on pawnshops to raise money for the cost of education ahead of the new school term. Many parents are currently pawning their valuables, including jewellery and electronic goods, at a number of state pawnshops (Pegadaian) in Bandarlampung, to pay for their children's education.
Subarkah, 43, a civil servant in Kedaton district, said he was forced to pawn in his motorcycle because he did not have enough money to pay enrolment fees for his two children, who attend state junior and senior high schools.
"My children are enrolling at SMA 2 state senior high school and SMP 2 state junior high school in Bandarlampung.
"Both schools are categorized as International standard (RSBI) schools, so the cost is very high. The enrolment fees for SMA 2 are set at Rp 3 million (US$285) and Rp 1.6 million at SMP 2. The amount is just for school building contribution only, and does not including the monthly school fees of Rp 300,000," Subarkah said.
He said he was able to raise Rp 5 million from pawning his motorbike for a contractual period of one year.
"I pawned in my motorbike, for which the monthly instalments have just been completed last month. By pawing it I still have the chance to get it back. I'll immediately redeem it if I have money in a few months," Subarkah said.
Zuraida, 50, from Telukbetung, Bandarlampung, said she was forced to pawn in her gold necklace and bracelets to pay for her eldest child's studies at a university in Java.
"My child is enrolled at a state university in Bandung, West Java, through special channels. It cost me tens of millions of rupiah.
My second child is enrolling in senior high school so I have to pawn in some of my jewellery," said Zuraida, who declined to mention the amount she received for the pawned the jewellery.
She said that gold jewellery is part of the local people's dignity, which must be upheld.
"For native Lampung people, like myself, gold must not be pawned, but I was compelled to do so. I hope that I can redeem the pieces within the contractual period of time," she said.
Pawnbroker Khaironi said his shop distributes an average of Rp 400 million in loans daily. He said that the amount of loans being taken out has risen in the last week and that he expected the trend to continue until the end of July.
"Credit allocation outside the new school term amounts at between Rp 250 million and Rp 300 million daily. Generally, the rise we are seeing is parents who want to enrol their children in school and seasonal traders who require additional capital, especially those selling stationery and books," he said.
Because of the increasing demand, PT Pegadaian is adding more outlets and increasing trading hours. The concern has forecast a growth rate of 150 percent and a total of Rp 450 billion in transactions.
Many people prefer to raise money by pawning their valuables with PT Pegadaian, rather than taking out a bank loan, given the simple conditions. "As long as you have items to pawn in that can be valued in cash, Pegadaian will provide you with the loans," Khaironi explains.
Others, in more rural area, are again resulting to the ijon system to meet the cost of education. Under an ijon transaction, a farmer sells their maturing crops before harvest to middlemen at a price lower than what they would receive at harvest time.
Farmers in Central Lampung, Metro and East Lampung regencies have reported doing this to raise money for the education of their children. Supardi, a farmer in Mataram Baru, Central Lampung, said he was forced to sell his rice crops for Rp 3 million per hectare through the ijon system.
"I have to sell two hectares of my rice crops now because it's difficult for me to get loans from the bank or from neighbors to pay for my children's education.
