While millions of students across the country began the new academic year Monday, many parents were busy dealing with a problem that has yet to be addressed.

Every year, parents have to pay several types of levies before their children can begin studying at new schools. The levies take the shape of application, uniform, and student organization activity fees, in addition to donations for school building maintenance and renovations.

The National Education Ministry's director general of management of basic and secondary education, Suyanto, said schools across the country -- except high schools -- were forbidden to collect application fees from new students.

The central government, however, does not prohibit schools from seeking money for other types of levies, as the government is only responsible for financing school operational costs, such as electricity, telephone and water bills, and salaries for public school teachers, Suyanto said.

Many provinces in Indonesia have banned schools from collecting any type of levy from new students. The Jakarta Education Agency, for example, has made the ban official in its schools, for kindergarten through junior high.

Banten, West Java, Central Java, West Sumatra, North Sumatra, North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara have also enacted such regulations.

Despite this, many schools continue to charge new students. Hundreds of parents have filed complaints regarding the problem with Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) and its NGO partners. The corruption watchdogs have opened dozens of service posts in 11 provinces to accommodate complaints of levies imposed on new students.

ICW's Ade Irawan told The Jakarta Post that 90 percent of the complaints concerned illegal levies. He said such levies continue to be imposed because local administrations fail to enforce sanctions when schools violate levy regulations.

"Local administrations issued the bylaw, only to avoid their obligation," he said.

Ade said ICW would report the schools either to the Corruption Eradication Commission or the Attorney General's Office.

Last week, Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes Marwan Effendi said Attorney General Hendarman Supandji had ordered provincial and district attorneys' offices across the country to monitor illegal levies charged by schools and universities for new student admissions.

"Every levy without a legal basis is illegal, and illegal levies constitute fraud," Marwan was quoted by Antara.

"Corruption within public services has till now been ignored, but starting this year it will become our priority. This includes fraud taking place at schools."

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