Full-day School Needs to be Tried Out in Certain Area: VP Kalla

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla has said he agreed on a discourse on issue of full-day school implementation, but it must be tried out first in a particular area.

"It must be tried out first in a particular area and if it is successful, it can be implemented gradually in other regions because I am sure that not all schools in the regions are ready to implement it," Kalla remarked on Wednesday.

The vice president explained that the full-day school was not new because many private schools have applied it.

But to implement it, he said certain conditions such as good cafeteria and good room to play must be fulfilled.

Therefore, the vice president stated that the full-day school must be adjusted to the areas that really need to apply it, because in farm areas the children must help their parents after school.

Earlier, Culture and Education Minister Muhadjir Effendy introduced the full-day school system for basic education, both for private and state elementary and lower secondary schools. Students will remain at school during the hours their parents are at work in offices.

The full-day school system will help develop the character of children, instead of leaving them free to indulge in any unsavory activity when parents are not home to supervise, Minister Effendy stated at a function in Malang, East Java, on Sunday.

However, many quarters considered it important that implications of any such idea be studied thoroughly.

ANTARA