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Some parents welcome longer school day
Culture and Education Minister Muhadjir Effendy's controversial plan to extend school hours for elementary to high school students will positively impact students - both in academic achievement and personal development, some parents have said.
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Teachers at Elementary School SDN-01 in Menteng, Central Jakarta, welcome students and parents on the first day of school in a recent photo. (kompas.com/Kahfi Dirga Cahya)
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ulture and Education Minister Muhadjir Effendy’s controversial plan to extend school hours for elementary to high school students will positively impact students – both in academic achievement and personal development, some parents have said.
“All this time, students from rich families can afford to pay private teachers for extra lessons, while the poor can’t afford it,” said Wiwin Darwinah, a parent, who lives in Ciputat, South Tangerang. She is the mother of a sixth grader and a ninth grader and sends her children to public schools.
Meanwhile, Mustiana Dewi from Bekasi, West Java, said her daughter, who studies at a private junior high school in Bekasi, attended more classes in her day. She added that the programs encouraged her daughter to spend more time engaged in productive activities at school instead of hanging out with friends at malls.
“My daughter studies at school until the afternoon. Therefore, once she arrives at home, she only has a short time for her own activities at home,” Dewi, the mother of a third grader, said.
Critics say many public schools are not yet ready to adopt a longer school day. Muhadjir has said a longer school day will mean that parents can send their children to school and then pick them up at the end of the day after work.
