Poverty bars children from school<\/p>\n
PURWAKARTA, West Java: Half of the elementary school graduates
\nin Purwakarta regency, West Java, are unable to go on to junior
\nhigh school because their parents cannot afford the school fees,
\naccording to an educator.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the local branch of the Association of
\nIndonesian Teachers, Dedi Effendi, said on Tuesday about 7,000
\nof the 14,000 elementary graduates in the regency could not
\ncontinue their educations because their parents could not afford
\nthe school fees.<\/p>\n
According to reports, a new student at a state-run junior high
\nschool must pay Rp 700,000 (US$77.40) for school uniforms, shoes,
\nschool maintenance fees and other expenses.<\/p>\n
"People in the lower-income bracket like us must accept the
\nfact that our children must be content with an elementary school
\neducation. It is already difficult for us to meet our daily
\nneeds, let alone to pay hundreds of thousands of rupiah for
\nschool fees," Sukardi, a local resident, said.<\/p>\n
He and other parents in Plered village, well-known as a
\nmanufacturing center for roof tiles, have been forced to let
\ntheir school-aged children work to augment the family's income.
\n--Antara<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/poverty-bars-children-from-school-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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