Students across Indonesia celebrated passing the National Exams by painting each others uniforms and distributing food, but students in Garut, West Java decided to attack students from other high schools.
On Simpang Lima Street, in Garut, students from a private vocational school attacked students from other high schools after verifying which schools they attended during a parade around the city.
The students shouted while carrying stones and iron sticks. Police dispersed the parade.
“I was hit by one of the students, fortunately it only hit my helmet,” said Irpan, one of the students who was attacked.
Other schools across the country celebrated in traditional ways.
In Pamekasan, Madura, students from the State Vocational High School celebrate by giving food to becak (tricycle taxi) drivers and their passengers in front of their school.
“Celebrating this way benefits others, the students can share their [happiness] with becak drivers, by delivering food,” Tarmudji, the headmaster of SMKN 3, said.
In Karawang, West Java, students from Islamic schools celebrated by painting their uniforms with colorful spray paint and markers.
“We paint school uniforms because we’re not going to use them any longer, and it is expression of our happiness to pass the national exam,” one Karawang student said.
This practice has disappointed the local education agency.
“They better keep their school uniforms for their relatives who probably could use them later,” Wawan Setiawan, secretary of the Youth and Sport Education Agency of Karawang said.