Economic woes force 12,000 W. Java students to drop out<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Twelve thousand West Java elementary school
\nstudents can no longer afford education, according to the head of
\nthe West Java education and culture office.<\/p>\n
\"This must be quickly overcome or the figure will increase,\"
\nsaid Hasymi Romly on Monday in a discussion on elementary
\neducation in Garut, West Java. Antara reported a large proportion
\nof the students' parents had lost their jobs.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday Minister of Education and Culture Juwono
\nSudarsono said high public awareness of education had helped to
\nforestall the initially estimated 6.5 million drop-outs at all
\nlevels, including higher education.<\/p>\n
So far 2.5 million had dropped out, Juwono said, but did not
\ngive a breakdown for each level. Among the measures it was
\ntaking, Juwono said the government was working to exempt students
\nfrom poor families from paying school fees.<\/p>\n
Hasymi said among his office's efforts to keep students in
\nschool, nonformal education known as Paket A at elementary level
\nand Paket B at junior high level was being organized for drop-
\nouts, Hasymi said. The report did not cite the number of actual
\ndrop-outs from either levels.<\/p>\n
Hasymi said distance learning would also be developed.<\/p>\n
A program involving the public called Love Your Alumni
\nElementary School Movement in which people contribute to their
\nformer elementary schools, has raised Rp 270 million (US$24,500).<\/p>\n
The funds will be prioritized to children of dismissed
\nworkers, Hasymi said. He added that a constraint on the
\ngovernment program to provide the nine-year basic education was
\nthe lack of facilities, particularly in Moslem junior high
\nschools, the madrasah tsanawiyah.<\/p>\n
A six-year joint project with the World Bank, the West Java
\nBasic Education Project, he said, was among the schemes funding
\nthe renovation of school buildings.<\/p>\n
In the first year the project involved 12 regencies:
\nLebak, Pandeglang, Sukabumi, Cianjur, Majalengka, Kuningan,
\nIndramayu, Subang, Karawang, Bandung, Garut and Tasikmalaya.<\/p>\n
The project cost US$130.2 million, of which 80 percent was a
\nWorld Bank loan and the rest came from the government.<\/p>\n
Among West Java's 48,731 elementary school buildings, 4,423
\nwere badly damaged, Hasymi said.<\/p>\n
Thousands of needy students have received more than Rp 13.4
\nbillion in education funds from the National Foster Parent
\nMovement. The students included 29,469 in West Java.<\/p>\n
A release from the Movement, GNOTA, said Sunday that since
\nAug. 8 public contributions totaling Rp 13,437,420,000 which it
\nhad received had been distributed to 180,714 students in 26
\nprovinces.<\/p>\n
An executive of GNOTA, Jeannette Sudjunadi, that of the
\ncontributions, 78,873 \"packages\" had been received in regencies.<\/p>\n
Packages refer to funds of Rp 60,000 for elementary school
\nstudents and Rp 90,000 for junior high school students channeled
\nthrough school principals in Java through the state-owned Bank
\nRakyat Indonesia. Outside Java, the packages refer to
\ncontributions of uniforms, shoes and writing equipment.<\/p>\n
The report did not specify the number of elementary and junior
\nhigh students who received assistance. The contributions included
\n101,841 parcels scheduled for delivery from Sunday to next month.<\/p>\n
\"GNOTA is also preparing contributions for around 700,000 more
\nfoster students,\" Sudjunadi said. (anr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/economic-woes-force-12000-w-java-students-to-drop-out-1447893297",
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