Response To The Case Of MTs Student Diplomas In Yogyakarta Arrested For Arrears Of Rp 8 Million In Contributions, Ombudsman Immediately Visits Ministry Of Religion

Illustration - A number of madrasa students taking lessons/ANTARA

YOGYAKARTA - The Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia (ORI) Representative of DIY-Central Java visited the Regional Office of the Ministry of Religion of the Special Region of Yogyakarta today to follow up on complaints about the detention of a student's diploma from one of the madrasah tsanawiyah (MTs) in this province.

"This is very worrying because until now there are still schools or madrasas that hold their students' diplomas," said RI DIY Ombudsman Assistant Rifqi at the DIY Ministry of Religious Affairs Regional Office, Yogyakarta, Antara, Wednesday, July 20.

Rifqi said that ORI DIY had received complaints from parents of students from one of the MTs in Sleman Regency who had withheld their diplomas or graduation certificates (SKL) because they still had unpaid expenses.

"There is a certificate detention even though the language used by the school keeps the diploma. Students who are detained with SKL or their diplomas because they still have Rp 8 million in arrears so cannot currently register for a higher school level," he explained.

"The complainant stated that until now he has not been able to go to school. The parents of this student live in Batam. He wants to register his child (the next level of school) there," he said.

According to him, the practice of withholding diplomas often occurs, even though this is the first time the case in madrasas has been encountered in the DIY region. "We are coordinating with the Regional Office of the Ministry of Religion as the madrasa boss. We want to hear what can be done," said Rifqi.

The Head of the Institutional Section for Madrasah Education at the Regional Office of the Ministry of Religion, DIY, Fahrudin, confirmed that the MTs who were reported to have withheld student diplomas were in the process of being trained and had been summoned by the Sleman Regency Ministry of Religion.

"The DIY Ministry of Religion will monitor the communication between the Sleman Ministry of Religion and the madrasa in question," he said.

Fahrudin hopes that similar cases will not be repeated in the future and asks all madrasas to be able to distinguish between matters that are the responsibility of parents and children's rights after completing education at the madrasa.

"Children's rights must be given. I hope there will be no detention, whether it's an SKL or a diploma. If there are financial problems, then discuss with parents," he said.