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Imdramayu

Joined: 09 Feb 2007 Posts: 394 Location: South Korea
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 9:37 pm Post subject: Free education in Indonesia |
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I hope you don't mind me asking another question about Indonesia. Your responses to my thread about using mobile phones in Indonesia was great.
Is public school free in Indonesia for all Indonesians? Is elemenatry, middle, and high school free for all citizens? |
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malu
Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 1344 Location: Sunny Java
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:39 am Post subject: |
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No. In some provinces elementary and junior high school is supposed to be free - officially - though even in those areas schools often rip off parents for school uniforms and books. To get your child into one of the better state schools in a relatively affluent area will require a surprisingly large bung of cash.
The education ministry (DikNas) is one of the more corrupt departments in Indonesia. |
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reddrake
Joined: 04 Apr 2008 Posts: 47 Location: Riyadh
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 7:18 am Post subject: |
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in Indonesia, no such thing is free education. even when the school fee is free, they will require you to pay for books and uniforms.
If you are interested in getting you kids in Indonesian school, my suggestions is to put them in Nat plus school, because most state own schools may pretend that their school has the cheapest fee, but they will rip you blind with "Uang Gedung" or entrance fee.
At least most of the nat plus school will tell you right at the beginning how much their fee is. |
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Imdramayu

Joined: 09 Feb 2007 Posts: 394 Location: South Korea
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 6:03 pm Post subject: Parents taking kids out of elementary school |
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As with last time, I'm thinking about my housemaid. She's from Imdramayu so I suppose her native language is Bahasa. What are the schools (and their fees) like there?
She cannot read or write in her own language because she went to Grade 2 in elementary school (she says). Now, she's single and nobody to protect her and guide her through society (except for family).
Why would parents take their daughter out of elementary school? She is the oldest daughter so maybe they want her to help on the farm or around the house. Nevertheless, to me, preventing a child to be educated sounds cruel. It is condeming the child to a life of (probable) illiteracy -- not being able to read forms/notices/food labels or write application forms or even send money home (which is the case now). |
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Nabby Adams
Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 215
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 3:48 am Post subject: |
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How old is she? I don't think adults can suddenly rock up to a high school to take the classes.
You gotta feel sorry for some of the cards people are dealt though. |
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rayman
Joined: 24 May 2003 Posts: 427
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 5:08 am Post subject: |
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Why would parents take their daughter out of elementary school? |
Parents in this unfortunate situation (poor, uneducated and probably unemployed in a rural environment) have few options, but to consider the immediate term and what their daughter can provide for their family.
Realistically, they probably could have scrounged up the fees and had her finish school.
Then she would be literate.
But what would she then do? Probably work as a housemaid for the same salary she is receiving now.
So in the parents minds, they would have sacrificed 5-10 years of supporting their daughter with their daughter unable to generate any of her own income. Only to have her at a later point doing what she can already do (albeit less competently) for the same wage.
I agree, it's hard to put a value on education. But, I also understand the thinking of these families. |
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bule_boy69
Joined: 05 Mar 2007 Posts: 158 Location: Jakarta
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 9:21 am Post subject: Education in Indo |
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Could have been worse....
I hear some families up there that even sell their kids to brothels.
I remember an Indonesian telling me that her family had paid for their maid's school education. Only afterwards did it occur to me to ask how old the maid was at the time.
In the west there are lots of adult education programs to help people who missed out the first time around. Does anyone know of ANYTHING remotely like this in Indonesia?? |
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rayman
Joined: 24 May 2003 Posts: 427
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 10:33 am Post subject: |
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Could have been worse....
I hear some families up there that even sell their kids to brothels.
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I agree. I think the parents of this girl have their heart in the right place. Particularly considering the peer pressures they would endure with the strong migratory sex trade culture of Indramayu. |
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Imdramayu

Joined: 09 Feb 2007 Posts: 394 Location: South Korea
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 3:35 pm Post subject: |
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She's 27 with no husband to protect/provide for her. She'll spend her life working as a housemaid in various venues until she's too old.
In Indramayu, there must be some job opportunities where literacy would be of benefit. Office jobs, clerical, government jobs, warehouse job, etc. What are the common jobs in Imdramayu?
Is the migratory sex trade in Imdramayu mean that young women are often sold into brothels or to pimps to move out of the area? DO they move to Jakarta, Bali, or other places?
I could help her become literate in English but she'd feel uncomfortable because I'm a man and she's a woman. Also, how much would it help since most housemaid jobs are with non-English speaking families? How transferavke are literacy skills from English to other languages? |
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rayman
Joined: 24 May 2003 Posts: 427
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 4:06 pm Post subject: |
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Most Indramayu jobs centre around farming rice and farming rice. It's known as the rice belt of West Java.
People also make a living growing other vegetables and fruits (it's also famous for mangos) and selling them at the local market.
Although surrounded by 117 000 hectres of farm land, it has a very small town centre and it's very sedate. with no obvious commercial district. I didn't even see a shopping mall. The men provide public transport in the form of becaks (bicyle taxis), ojeks (motorbike taxis) and angkots. The women may work in restaurants or have a small retail business.
Government jobs would be few and far between. Besides, you'd normally have to either pay a 'fee' or have connections to get government jobs in Indonesia. Very few tousists pass through, so the hotel industry is rundown and severely limited.
The women from here that go into the sex trade move to a variety of places. Most go to Jakarta where they work in bars/brothels for the owner and are provided with attached accommodation and a percentage of their intake. Others go to Jakarta and freelance. Others again go to nearby Cirebon. Many are also sent outside the country through the help of overseas agents with local agents working in Indramayu. These are usually 1 or 2 year contracts and most go to Japan to work as hostesses in karaoke bars. However, even if her and her family would be open to this route, at 27, she would now be considered too old anyway.
I applaud your concern and attempt to find a means to her becoming literate. However, although it would no doubt improve her life from an intellectual perspective, I really don't think it would boost her job opportunities a great deal. |
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malu
Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 1344 Location: Sunny Java
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Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 2:03 am Post subject: |
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baedaebok wrote: |
She's 27 with no husband to protect/provide for her. She'll spend her life working as a housemaid in various venues until she's too old.
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By rural Indonesian standards she isn't doing too bad, actually. Sad but true. |
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reddrake
Joined: 04 Apr 2008 Posts: 47 Location: Riyadh
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Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 3:27 am Post subject: |
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malu wrote: |
baedaebok wrote: |
She's 27 with no husband to protect/provide for her. She'll spend her life working as a housemaid in various venues until she's too old.
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By rural Indonesian standards she isn't doing too bad, actually. Sad but true. |
I agree, because many of her "mates" end up in protitutions hell.
Another thing that caught my attention, alot of them gave up the idea of advancing their education. My in laws told me, about 5 years ago, they hired a 16 yrs old maid that just finish her junior high, when my in laws offered her to finish high school (all paid by my in laws), she n her family refuse, saying that those hours are better spend making money and looking for a husband. And strangely the other maids in the house agreed with her.
So Baedaebok.....though your intention is noble. My guess is that it will be a lost cause. |
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Imdramayu

Joined: 09 Feb 2007 Posts: 394 Location: South Korea
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 11:10 am Post subject: Working education systems |
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It sounds like people from Imdramayu and thereabouts are caught in a socioeconomic revolving door. They are unable and unwilling to get out of this cycle of poverty.
It just feels wrong. I've heard that the Phillpines' educational system works quite well (maybe the only thing that works well). This is partially because education is put in high priority by parents.
Indonesia and Phillipines economies look similar. According to Wikipedia, their nominal GDP and GDP per capita are close. The GDP (PPP method that considers strength of the currency) puts Phillpines a little ahead but not by that much. If this is accurate, why is the eduation system working in one country and not the other?
Phillipines Indonesia
Population 90.5 million 222 million
GDP $117 billion $ 408 billion
GDP per capita $1351, ranked 117th $1812, ranked 114th |
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malu
Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 1344 Location: Sunny Java
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Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 12:25 am Post subject: |
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The Phillipine education system used to be the envy of other SE ASian countries but not any more. The well-qualified teachers are now mostly working as 'expats' in Indonesia and China while many others work as waiters, nannies and drivers in the Gulf. If you have money there are international quality schools in the Phillipines - as in most other Asian countries - but for your average Joe education in the Phillipines today is crap. Many Fillipinos in the Gulf area tend to talk up the quality of their education system but even a quick google search will show what is really going on. |
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Atoms for Peace
Joined: 06 Feb 2006 Posts: 135 Location: NKRI
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Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 2:47 am Post subject: |
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malu wrote: |
The well-qualified teachers are now mostly working as 'expats' in Indonesia and China |
Some good points Malu. Indonesia has certainly seen a collapse in educational standards over the last 40 years - it used to 'import' university students and export lecturers, but the situation is now reversed. The fact that during the Suharto era, the government did not want inquiring minds emerging from schools and the more recent focus on religious piety over education aren't helping. Also the fact that until recently there were tight restrictions on the use of English in schools and the current high import taxes on English language books have added to the problems.
With regard to the Philippines, where are these well-qualified teachers coming from? Is there a good teacher training system in place? Just curious as I've come across a number of Filipinos teaching in expensive private schools here in Indonesia. |
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