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strong>Oct. 24, p2

Sixteen-year-old Randa relaxed in the driver'€™s seat of a Metromini bus on route S62, traveling from Manggarai bus station to Pasar Minggu Bus Terminal in South Jakarta, while waiting for passengers in Manggarai on Thursday.

Although his driving was competent, his young age was apparent from his small build and innocent face. There are many underage Metromini, angkot (public minivan) and Kopaja drivers in Jakarta who have been driving for years and have somehow managed to escape the police.

'€œI'€™ve been driving Metromini and angkot for about a year. I'€™ve been caught once by the police. They gave me a warning and made me write a statement declaring I wouldn'€™t drive again,'€ Randa told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. He was behind the wheel again a few days later.

Your comments:

What about giving warnings to bus companies, stating that the employment of drivers is contingent on age and experience? Anyone found on their payrolls to be underage would result in the forcible closure of the company.

In addition, the vehicles they are driving are likely to be polluting, unmaintained death traps. Not a good combination.

Somehow this has got to be stopped, but venal criminality is endemic in Indonesia. Eradicating it requires acknowledgement of the scale and scope of the problem. No one, not even the new administration has the time or resources to tackle it.

The population at large is too docile. They don'€™t complain enough about lousy service. Things won'€™t improve until people start to feel embarrassed about providing an inferior product or service.

With many folks displaying infantilized anti-authority, get-rich-quick attitudes, this problem is not going to disappear this generation or next.

Maurice Gold

Only in Indonesia could a child drive a public bus and not be caught by the police. On second thoughts, I see every current law broken hundreds of times a day in Yogyakarta without the police even noticing.

Charles Jarrett

State schools in Indonesia should be free of charge. Perhaps the extra revenue from the increase in fuel prices could be allocated to education instead.

One of these kids might end up becoming a future president! Unless you want these kids breaking the law, why don'€™t you give them an education so they can find a decent job or work their way up?

However, beware corruption in the school budget.

Batik

 The police do notice, but in order for them to do something means they have to put down their phones, stub out their cigarettes and stop reading the newspaper '€” this is something I have seen many times. I love Indonesia but please police, start cracking down on these blatant law breakers for everyone'€™s sake.

Gim AB

Article 31 of the 1945 Constitution states: '€œEvery citizen has the right to education.'€

So, what is this right to education for if impoverished children are forced to drop out of school? And how about the 20 percent state budget allocation for education?

Sachrul

People these days blame the economy, the government and even the country for whatever problems they have, like poverty. They never blame themselves.

Shay T

There is the School Operational Aid (BOS) program that helps children from low-income families with their tuition fees '€” and in some cases pays all the child'€™s school costs.

The real problem is that too many children don'€™t continue their education and go as high as they can.

They often give up too soon before they have tried their best, and then they blame their failure on tuition fees.

Prima

Nowadays, children in Indonesia still have difficulties getting an education because of the economy, which is the main educational problem in Indonesia.

HD KK

It is about law enforcement. I hope President Joko Widodo can encourage the police to be more disciplined.

Joko Prabowo

An impoverished child has to earn money by working as a public bus driver, while a rich kid can drive a car and kill innocent people. This is not an economic problem, it is a matter of law.

Fussion B
 

Is it fair to take away this kid'€™s source of income? Social security is also another factor here; children should have free education guaranteed by the government, but we don'€™t have a good enough system to ensure this.

Akti