Regarding the practice of extortion in schools, the inspector general of the Ministry of Education and Culture asks the regional inspectorates to open a reporting channel

TIME.CO, Jakarta – An honorary teacher at School Cibeureum 1 Elementary School in Bogor City, West Java, was unilaterally dismissed by its principal some time ago. This was done after the honorary teacher was said to have exposed the practice of illegal withdrawals or extortion at school.

Due to his actions, the school principal was removed from his position by the mayor of Bogor, Bima Arya Sugiarto. This decision was made after an investigation conducted at the school by the Bogor City Inspectorate.

The inspector general of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, Chatarina Muliana, explained the division of government powers in handling cases like the one that happened in Bogor. You confirmed that the practice of extortion often occurs in schools.

“Because it is true that extortion in the education sector is small, but there is a lot of action. That is why a team was formed to sabotage extortion (clean up illegal taxes),” Chatarina said in a discussion on education and culture policy with the media at Mercure Hotel Jakarta on Saturday 16 September 2023.

Chatarina said the authority of the Ministry of Education and Culture is to ensure that if a complaint of extortion comes in, it will coordinate with the regional inspectorate or anti-extortion squad. “But if it is implemented by regional officials, it is up to the regional government (regional government) to impose sanctions. However, we can also act earlier,” she said.

Announcement

According to Chatarina, extortion is a criminal act. Extortion is one of the illicit acts regulated by law number 31 of 1999 in conjunction with law number 22 of 2001 relating to the eradication of corruption crimes.

Regarding the protection of whistleblowers in cases of extortion practices in schools, Chatarina said that her party encourages regional inspectorates to open reporting channels. “So the journalist feels safe. The important thing is that there is the support of the regional government or even the Ministry of Education and Culture,” she said.

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