Students at state schools and their parents report being intimidated by school authorities following criticism of alleged misappropriation of education funds, parents said Tuesday.
Parents say the lack of transparency in using school operational funds (BOS) and educational operational aid (BOP) forced them to report school boards to police and government institutions as well as Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) and the Human Rights Commission.
Hendaru, whose son attends state elementary school SDN 12 in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, said that after he and other parents filed the report in June, they were summoned by the school principal and were told to sign a letter retracting their report.
"If I didn't, my son would not be allowed to sit the final exams," Hendaru told The Jakarta Post, adding that he finally bowed to the pressure. His son is now at a state junior high school.
SDN 12 reportedly misused a Rp 500 million grant in 2007 as part of its BOS and BOP allocation. The potential losses to the state could reach Rp 151.8 million.
Another parent, Okky Sofyan, said he was threatened by the head of the Rawamangun district primary education office, who said his identity card would be revoked.
On Monday, Okky and several parents of students at SDN 12 and state junior high SMPN 99 in Pulogadung, East Jakarta, as well as Ade Pudjiati, the head of the Jakarta Independent Study Center (TKBM) forum, reported the acts of intimidation to the Human Rights Commission and ICW.
Yuslinarwati, whose daughter attended SMPN 99, said that after she demanded transparency about how the school spent the education fund, her daughter faced intimidation at the school.
"The school principal told my daughter that she would not be able to study at any state high school in the city," she said.
Yuslinarwati was the secretary of the SMPN 99 education committee but was fired following her complaints that the principal, vice principal and education committee chief often demanded payment from parents for unclear purposes.
"I was supposed to be the committee secretary until next year, but I was fired after I and other parents demanded the school board give open and detailed information to parents on the use of the education fund," she told the Post.
The alleged graft also affects the study centers, which are supposed to be assisted by state schools.
Ade had reported that several schools in the city allegedly misappropriated education funds totalling Rp 1.2 billion, which were to have been channeled to the TKBM.
"After I filed the report, state junior high SMPN 67 in South Jakarta said it would stop supporting our Ibu Pertiwi TKBM," Ade said.
SMPN 67 principal Purwati denied the allegations, saying her school could not continue the support due to "technical reasons".
Jakarta Education Agency head Taufik Yudhi said his agency would investigate the matter and would focus on finding a solution to improve the city's school system. (rch)
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