The Atjesch internaat — the Atjehnese boarding-school — was a boarding-school for school-going Atjehnese children under European supervision, founded at Kota Radja in 1922. The institution is one of the principal educational establishments of the post-pacification period, and the type-case of the colonial government’s attempt to educate the sons of oeléebalangs in European habits.
The Institution
The Atjesch internaat is a boarding-school for school-going Atjehnese children under European supervision, where one tries, while maintaining simplicity, to satisfy all requirements. The sleeping-halls are roomy; the food, after being fixed according to medical advice, is carefully prepared. The boarding-fee is sixty guilders a month, but a child can be admitted for less if the parents cannot pay the usual amount. Remarkable is that all the housed children are still from prominent families. An oeléebalang tjoet could have his children admitted, but they do not yet come. It is therefore so far a prominent institution.
Significance
The Atjesch internaat is the principal educational initiative of the post-pacification period for the sons of the Atjehnese aristocracy, and the type-case of the colonial government’s attempt to educate them in European habits while preserving their Atjehnese identity. The institution is also the type-case of the social exclusivity of the early civilian period: only the prominent families come, and the oeléebalang tjoets do not yet send their sons.
See Also
Source
Verkenningen in Atjeh, by Dr. R. Broersma (De Locomotief, October 1923), chapter XV, ‘Groot-Atjeh’, p. 104.
Source
Verkenningen in Atjeh, by Dr. R. Broersma (De Locomotief, October 1923); Atjeh Patchouli-Olie, by Ir. W. Spoon (1932), where applicable.