Here are a few things to consider about Universal School in Kemayoran.
- The school is over-crowded and understaffed. They may tell you to sign up fast because spots are limited, but in reality, they will fill to far beyond their capacity, and then keep enrolling more students throughout the year.
- Class sizes are very large, up to 30 children in one class -- even for the younger children in 1st and 2nd grades.
- There are no assistant teachers. There is just one teacher for 30 first graders.
What's the big deal if Universal School is understaffed?
It means that the majority of the time, the children will not be getting the attention they need. It means that both students and teachers likely have no idea what is happening. It means that if your 6-year old happened to arrive 5 minutes late, they might be unaccounted for and left wandering alone around the expansive multi-storey school building.
Given recent events that have taken place in international schools in Jakarta, the thought of your child being lost at school is really quite frightful.
All in all, although an understaffed school may not seem like a big deal at first sight, it really, really is.
This also means that although the one teacher in charge of 30 first-graders may, in her heart, really care about her class, she may simply not have the time or ability to truly care for them.
When one student lags behind, she will not be able to explain the work or teach the child something that he didn't catch the first time around. Instead she will ask one of the faster children to finish it for him so that the parents will assume that child actually did something at school. Unfortunately, or should I say fortunately, most parents know their children's handwriting.
It means that if your first-grader forgot their lunch box, the teacher will likely have no time to accompany that child to the canteen. That child would have to sit in class and miss lunch. More likely though, is the fact that the teacher will probably not notice at all that there was a child without food.
That teacher would not be able to read 30 student diaries everyday, and will likely miss any correspondence from parents, even if its very important.
Negligence may be a strong word, but its the only word that comes to mind.
If you are considering Universal School Jakarta for your child, hopefully this bit of insight into Universal can help you make an informed decision before you sign up for an entire year.
