Bandung (Pikiran Rakyat: 13/06/06) July is an important month for education in Indonesia. Every parent, regardless their social status, rich or poor, are facing the same need, enrolling their children to a higher education level. In this month, relationship cards are played. All level of education from early childhood education to university admits new students.

Schools have to face tricky problems. If you ask a principal of a favorite school in Bandung, I am sure he would shyly - off the record - pointed at names of many senior state officials who ask him to ‘take care’ of their children to be allowed to enroll in the favorite school. It was only the elementary school level… not to mention in junior high, senior high school, and universities. Many say that to avoid complications, school management allocates a “special quota” for them each year.

In state universities, such a practice might be hard to prove, even though it exists. However, it is quite obvious in primary and secondary education. Failure to admit in new school year enrolment, those students might join in the beginning of the second semester, where many students are moving to favorite schools. To enter a favorite state high school parents have to pay between Rp 7 to 10 million!

Therefore, starting form 2006/2007 school year, Bandung Education Agency disallows students to move in the second semester. This practice is unfair; moreover, the students that just moved in are usually lagged behind compared to other students whose enrollment was determined by their passing grades.

However, as the proverb says, where there’s honey, there are bees. Every opportunity is to be taken. Parents will do anything they could to fulfill their ambition to enroll their children in a favorite state school! … Because this is a door to get into other favorite state school of higher level. Every parent must be proud of their children who graduate from a favorite school or university!?

Even though most of these parents can afford to send their children to a good and expensive private school! Why should they insist on enrolling their children in a state school through the back door? What will be the education with such an input?