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AKARTA: Retno Listyarti, the secretary-general of the Indonesian Federated Teachers Union (FSGI) says the FSGI will request a judicial review of the National Educational System Law that administers international-standard pilot project schools (RSBI).

Several NGOs would join the union in backing the review, Retno said, including the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), and the Education Coalition.

The review request would challenge article 50 of the law, which obliges every regency or city to have an RSBI school, Retno said as reported by tempointeraktif.com.

The presence of the RBSI schools has irked critics, who claim that the schools segregate students from different economic backgrounds.

There have been huge disparities between the facilities for traditional and international students. While international program classrooms are typically equipped with posh tables and chairs, only second-rate facilities are available for regular track students, even within the same school.

Retno, a teacher at SMAN 13 Jakarta said an international-class student at the state high school could pay up to Rp 31 million (US$3,500) a year in fees and tuition.

“Education should be based on our values and culture. It should not be like a [airline] flights, where there are economy and executive classes,” Retno said on Tuesday.