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span class="inline inline-left">Free at last: Students of SMP 101 in West Jakarta after finishing the last day of national exams in April. Spray-painting their uniforms is a tradition for students after completing the scholastic right of passage. JP/Arief SuhardimanAfter the results of their national examinations were announced last Saturday, students took to the streets and spray-painted their school uniforms in a tradition kept alive by students across Jakarta.

“I am just following the tradition of senior classes in South Jakarta when they graduate,” said Irmaida Listia from SMA 18 in South Jakarta, adding that she merely looked for a medium to express her happiness after completing her senior-high school education.

Virina Nadila, 18, from SMA 7 in Central Jakarta had wanted to spray-paint her school uniform the day the government announced the exam results, but she failed to do so. “I had already prepared a white shirt to spray-paint on that day. But alas! My father picked me up when I was just about to start.”

Irmaida and Virina said they maintained the much-criticized tradition to forget the fact that they now faced an uncertain future. The spray-painted uniform, the students said, was an empowering symbol.

“My friends’ signatures on my shirt symbolize that many people still care for me,” Irmaida said.

But teachers and parents want to end the tradition. “I strongly object to students who spray-paint their uniforms on the announcement of the national examination results,” said Sopan, a deputy principal at privately-run senior high school SMA Al Azhar 1 in South Jakarta.

According to him, several schools have taken measures to prevent students from coming to schools during the announcement day to discourage “irresponsible” celebrations.

They chose to announce the examination results through various electronic media like text messages, email or school websites. But none of those efforts have worked so far.

“We as students can always gather at our hangout places to spray-paint our uniforms,” Irmaida said.

Education expert Arief Rahman said that schools had to be creative in finding ways to accommodate the students’ euphoria .

“Schools, for example, can provide a 10-meter blank white cloth for students to sign,” Arief said, adding that schools could also organize charity events so that their students could donate their unused clothes to needy people.

Some schools and students have managed to find ways to celebrate graduation without having their uniforms spray-painted.

SMA 65 in West Jakarta, for example, organized a charity event where senior students donated their unused uniforms to people in need.

The event was initiated by the school’s student council, according to Adri Aswin Azhari, who had just graduated from the school. Although senior students at his school never really had a tradition to spray-painting their uniforms.

Although Adri did not have a uniform covered with his friends’ signatures, he would always remember his high-school days as he had found other ways to treasure them.

The 18-year-old said that he kept the identity cards for all his examinations during the whole period of schooling. He collected identity cards from his first mid-semester examination until his latest national examination.

He also had one unforgettable reminder of his senior-high school era.

“I have a piece of my school principal’s car roof. I accidentally broke it when I played basketball with my friends,” he said laughing. (riz)