Decrepit schools lose students

A number of schools in South Tangerang reported low attendance from students who complained of missing furniture and a shortage of electricity.

“We have no chairs or tables or electricity. Students have to sit on the floor and this has gone on for a long time,” Sony Syarudin, a parent of a student, said on Monday.

He said parents have repeatedly complained to the South Tangerang municipal and Pondok Aren education bodies but no response has come.

With no improvement in sight, parents have decided to send their kids to other schools in the subdistrict.

“We have also held a meeting with the school principal but he did not listen to us,” Sony said.

The Jakarta Post learned that one of the decrepit schools was located in the midst of upmarket housing complex Bumi Serpong Damai and Bintaro.

Data from the school shows 55 new students applied in 2006. The number dropped to 35 in 2007. In 2008, only 27 new students registered at the school. In 2009, the number dropped even further to 20 and to 18 in 2010.

The school principal Madanih said the decrepit school building had in fact driven away students.

“We only know about the learning process. The task of supplying furniture is in the hands of the South Tangerang education agency,” he said, adding that recently state power company PT PLN cut the electricity after the school failed to pay its mounting bills. — JP