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group representing parents has alleged that a levy charged to students at two state schools in Central Jakarta was implemented because of the purchase of qurban (the practice of sacrificing livestock for consumption) for last month’s Idul Adha Day of Sacrifice.

The group, called the Parent Representatives Group 8113, is a nationwide society of parents established at the suggestion of Indonesia Corruption Watch to monitor schools. The number 8113 refers to Jan. 8, 2013, the day the Constitutional Court nullified the division of school categories between international and national schools. The group saw the division as discriminatory and counter to the 2003 National Education System Law.

“We suspect there are more cases [of charging levies] but parents are too scared to report them,” said community representative Jumono on Wednesday.

The suspicion surfaced after interviews with parents who said SDN Menteng 01 elementary school had charged each student Rp 100,000 (US$6.75) to purchase a goat worth Rp 3.2 million.

Meanwhile, SDN Cikini 01 allegedly raised money from students by deducting Rp 1,000 to 2,000 from their daily pocket allowance to buy meat for Idul Adha.

Community leader Rama Sulaeman explained that while school fund-raisers were perfectly acceptable, many schools had not been transparent in where the money went, and had imposed fixed amounts that burdened many low-income families.

“Schools should be transparent and reveal how much they raise and where the money goes. They must not impose fixed fees on parents. Parents should donate on a voluntary basis,” she told The Jakarta Post.

Rama said she experienced being charged a levy six years ago when her son was studying at SMA 22 state high school in Matraman, East Jakarta. The school claimed the funds were needed for constructing a building, so she asked the school to disclose its cash flow, which the school never did.

“I rejected the school’s request. In retaliation, they marked down my child as ‘do not ask for funds, the parent is an activist’,” she said.

Rama explained that the parents’ group had reported these cases to the Education and Culture Ministry, the City Education Agency and the governor, but had yet to receive a response. Separately, SDN Menteng 01 principal Edi Kusyanto denied the allegations.

“We gathered the students during noon break and encouraged them to take part in the Idul Adha celebrations. We told them to tell their parents that we are offering to purchase meat in advance and gave every children a letter asking for donations to give to their parents,” he told the Post on Thursday.

He said some parents donated a lowly Rp 10,000, while in some classes only half of the parents donated at all. The school raised Rp 22 million in a month to purchase a cow, which was equivalent to Rp 53,000 for each of the 374 students. The school also purchased a second cow and six goats after raising money from individual donors.

School teacher Asri added that the school had already been reported and cleared of misconduct by the City Education Agency.

SDN Cikini 01 principal Rahmat Hidayat also denied the allegations of charging a levy on students. He acknowledged that the school did ask for money during tausiyah (sermons) for Idul Adha, but it was part of the religious morality program to teach students about self-sacrifice.

The school collected Rp 8.8 million from 200 students over a month, which equaled to Rp 1,400 per student per day. Along with Rp 12.4 million in donations from four parents, the funds raised were enough to purchase, deliver and slaughter a cow.

“But it was purely voluntary. We did not impose a fixed amount on every student, and even if they didn’t donate it was fine,” he said on Thursday.

He added the school had briefed the parents about raising money for Idul Adha at the beginning of the year.

“It can be tricky to differentiate between asking and demanding,” Rahmat said. (nor)