Many Lampung students could be forced to drop out<\/p>\n
Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post\/Bandarlampung<\/p>\n
Twelve-year-old Suparman, who was carrying his three-year-old
\nbrother, cried when they were grabbed by municipal police
\npersonnel at the intersection near the Adipura monument in
\nBandarlampung.<\/p>\n
Suparman is one of hundreds of street children who was nabbed
\nin an operation that noon.<\/p>\n
"Please sir, don't take me away," pleaded Suparman to the
\nofficers. The firm grip of the officer rendered him helpless as
\nhe was pushed into the truck to be taken to a foster home.<\/p>\n
Suparman, from Sawah village in East Tanjungkarang, said that
\nhe was forced to turn to the streets as his father, who works as
\na porter at Tugu market, could no longer pay for his schooling.<\/p>\n
Suparman had to leave school when he was a fourth grader two
\nyears ago because he was ashamed of being repeatedly asked by his
\nteacher about overdue school fees.<\/p>\n
Thirteen-year-old Pirmansyah, from Gunungsulah subdistrict,
\nEast Tanjungkarang has also faced a similar situation.<\/p>\n
Pirmansyah, who now works as a scavenger, is desperately eager
\nto go back to school. "But my father has no money to pay for the
\nschool fees. If there is someone who wants to pay the fees, I
\nwant to return to school," said Pirmansyah.<\/p>\n
According to data at the Lampung Education Office, there are
\n3,337 elementary school-age children in Lampung who have a
\nsimilar fate to that of Suparman and Pirmansyah.<\/p>\n
However, according to the secretary of the Indonesian Teachers
\nDignity Forum, Gino Vanolie, the true figure could reach tens of
\nthousands from around one million regular and Islamic elementary
\nschool students in Lampung.<\/p>\n
Gino viewed that the Rp 20 billion (US$2.2 million) fund for
\nscholarships earmarked from the Lampung provincial budget in
\naddition to the fuel subsidy compensation funds reaching tens of
\nbillions of rupiah were adequate to save thousands of elementary
\nstudents from having to drop out of school.<\/p>\n
"There is no precise data on the number of students who may be
\nforced to discontinue their schooling to date. The Lampung
\nadministration claims that there are 124,000 such students, while
\nthe education office asserts that there are 228,000 students.
\nThis discrepancy between the two reports could lead to the
\nmisappropriation of funds," said Gino.<\/p>\n
"With the allotted funds of Rp 30 billion per year, it would
\nnot make sense if there are still students dropping out of school
\nand becoming street children or scavengers," said Gino.<\/p>\n
Assistant secretary of economics affairs and development at
\nthe Lampung administration, Haris Hasyim, disclosed that based on
\nfield data in 2004, there were at least 120,000 needy students
\nwho may have to discontinue their schooling.<\/p>\n
The provincial administration has earmarked Rp 20 billion for
\nthe education of 120,000 poor students this year.<\/p>\n
Head of the Lampung Education Office, Amansyah Singagerda,
\nhowever, revealed data indicating that there were 228,000 needy
\nstudents.<\/p>\n
The data was based on a recent survey conducted early this
\nyear which showed that the number of poor people in Lampung had
\nincreased along with the rise in fuel prices.<\/p>\n
According to Haris, the administration will assist all needy
\nstudents, especially when the central government has now provided
\nfunds derived from the cut in the fuel subsidy.<\/p>\n
"We have allocated funds for this fiscal year. Besides that,
\nwe have also raised the budget for free education. The central
\ngovernment will later disburse more funds from the fuel subsidy
\ncut. We are now adjusting the available budget so that the
\nfunding will not overlap," he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/many-lampung-students-could-be-forced-to-drop-out-1447893297",
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