Culture of bullying grips Jakarta school

Desperate parents of students attending a state high school in Bulungan, South Jakarta, filed a report on Thursday with the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) against what they saw as systematic bullying at the school.

The parents of seven students attending SMA 70 Jakarta, most of whom wished to remain anonymous, said deep-seated fears prevailed among some parents who had decided to remain tight-lipped over the bullying because they were concerned about the safety of their children.

“If seniors find out that the parents of junior students are filing reports, then they will bully them. That’s why most parents opt against speaking up,” Dony (not his real name), a parent, said after meeting with Komnas PA commissioners.

Dony said that most of the complaints lodged against bullies ended up with the police encouraging both sides to find amicable, out-of-court settlements.

Ichwan, another parent, said that the constant bullying practices revolved around a fund-raising drive for the Bulungan Cup (Bulcup), an annual prestigious arts and sports competition for high school students from all over the country, which costs SMA 70 more than Rp 1 billion (US$113,000) each year.

As a member of the school committee from 2009 until early this year, Ichwan said that the event, which began in 1999, was organized by senior students.

“Each class has to collect at least Rp 20 million. Senior students name one coordinator for each class to raise the funds. If they fail, seniors tell them to stand in line and then slap them on the head one by one.”

Dony said that earlier this month, eight junior students had been transferred to other schools by their parents due to safety concerns.

Ichwan stated that a long history of violence at SMA 70 had made the current situation difficult to change.

“Senior students usually provoke juniors into attacking sophomore students, and it works the other way around. Junior students who have the guts to attack sophomore students are considered to have passed a test or ‘graduated’,” he said.

Ichwan said data from the school committee showed that between July and September, there had been 20 fights involving students of SMA 70.

When the school committee filed a report to the City Education Agency, the school principal shot down the report by saying that only five brawls were reported.

The school authority later accused parents of trying to tarnish the good name of SMA 70. School principal Sudirman Bur said that parents were overreacting.

“I think the parents have gone too far. This is an internal problem and all sides are ready to discuss the issue and find a solution,” he said as quoted by kompas.com.

Sudirman said the school had tried to reduce the number of violent acts among students by giving them character-building education. He said the school had punished students involved in the violence.

Komnas PA chairman Arist Merdeka Sirait said that the commission would liaise with the National Education and Culture Ministry to address the problem.

Data from Komnas PA said that between January and June this year, 1,829 cases of bullying were reported in the Greater Jakarta area. In 2010, the figure was 2,339.