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Pandemic exposes vulnerability of Indonesia's private schools
With millions of Indonesians pushed out of jobs and scraping by with reduced incomes because of the prolonged epidemic, parents have struggled to pay for their children's tuition.
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Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) officers in Central Jakarta prepare to spray disinfectant in a school in Jakarta on March 3, 2020. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on educational institutions across the country, with children from low-income families who attend private schools bearing the brunt of the impacts.
With millions of Indonesians pushed out of jobs and scraping by with reduced incomes because of the prolonged epidemic, parents have struggled to pay for their children's tuition, said Indonesian Private Education Forum Body (BMPS) head Saur Panjaitan.
Private schools are often associated with students from elite families, but in Indonesia, they account for a portion as 80 percent of private schools in the country target lower socioeconomic groups, Saur said. They offer alternative education for students who cannot pass the tight competition for seats in state schools.
"The foundations that run these schools have had their cash flow disrupted [...] They're running out of money," he added.
As a result, these foundations had to find ways to keep operating and pay for teachers' salaries, all the while dealing with the additional costs and hurdles of online learning that have rendered them largely unprepared. Some have had no choice but to allow parents to pay their children’s tuition fees in installments, Saur said.
With many parents working in the informal sector — automatically preventing them from guiding their children when studying at home during the pandemic — and the lack of virtual learning facilities at home and offered by schools, Saur said online learning had not been entirely effective.
Read also: Government pushes for school reopening
