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Private high school to countersue woman suing school for making son repeat grade
In the suit, the woman is demanding the school let her son pass into the 12th grade and pay Rp 551 million (US$39,213) in compensation
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G
onzaga High School in South Jakarta plans to file a countersuit against a woman suing the school for making her son repeat 11th grade should an agreement not be reached through the mediation process.
Yustina Supatmi filed a lawsuit to the South Jakarta District Court on Oct. 1 against the school’s headmasters, two deputy headmasters and her son’s former homeroom teacher, alleging that the school had violated a government regulation by failing her son.
In the suit, Yustina demanded the school let her son pass into the 12th grade and pay Rp 551 million (US$39,213) in compensation
The hearing continued on Monday to verify legal documents from the Jakarta Education Agency, an additional defendant in the case.
“Should the mediation fail, we will file a counterclaim,” Gonzaga High School lawyer Edi Danggur said as quoted by kompas.com.
He said his client planned to file a countersuit on the grounds that Yustina had defamed Gonzaga High School and created a negative perception of the school.
“Our school’s name has been tarnished, we’ve received complaints. So it’s normal that we sue back,” Edi said.
Yustina lodged the lawsuit after claiming the school had rejected her request to hold a meeting to discuss her son.
In particular, she is protesting the fact the school prevented her son from advancing to the next grade for failing history class, Yustina’s lawyer Susanto Utama said.
Yustina’s son’s grade in history was 68, below the school’s minimum competency score of 75.
Susanto said the decision to fail Yustina’s son violated Education and Culture Ministerial Regulation No. 53/2015, which stipulates that a student can be held back a grade if they record three grades below the competency level.
“[Yustina’s son] had only one failing grade, which was history. We believe [the school’s course of action] violates Education and Culture Ministerial Regulation No. 53/2015,” Susanto said at a previous hearing. (ami)
