Principals told to understand students' plight<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Elementary school principals have been
\ninstructed not to force new students from poor families to wear
\nschool uniforms and to exempt them from admission and various
\nother fees, a city official said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Head of the city's education and teaching agency Masrul Nim
\nsaid school principals should be more flexible in their policies
\nrelated to anything requiring money.<\/p>\n
\"People are still facing economic difficulties due to the
\ncrisis and some of them are even unable to send their children to
\nschool.<\/p>\n
\"The most important thing now is that needy children go to
\nschool, that's why would be unproportional if they were still
\nobliged to wear uniforms when they could not afford them,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Masrul said that it would eventually be up to the Parent-
\nTeacher Association (BP3) to determine a way for needy students
\nto get school uniforms and other materials.<\/p>\n
\"The association was established with the aim of supporting
\nothers, that's why it should seek a way to help the students,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Data from the agency shows that 46,129 elementary school
\nchildren have the potential to drop out of school due to the
\neconomic crisis.<\/p>\n
However, data from the city's social and political affairs
\ndirectorate says that 60,000 children aged between seven and 15
\nwere too poor to attend school last year.<\/p>\n
Masrul said that BP3, which determines various fees for new
\nstudents, was only allowed to conduct a meeting two weeks after
\nschool started on July 17.<\/p>\n
He added that the association should not become a \"rubber
\nstamp\" for schools wanting their policies approved. \"That's why
\nschool elements should not be too dominant in the management,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Masrul also said that the 1999\/2000 city budget had set aside
\nscholarships for 10,000 elementary school students from poor
\nfamilies, with each receiving Rp 120,000 a year.<\/p>\n
The scholarships will be granted especially to those attending
\nsixth grade, so that they can receive diplomas, and first graders
\nfrom poor subdistricts in the city.<\/p>\n
According to Masrul, the number of poor districts have jumped
\nfrom 36 before the economic crisis struck in 1997 to 75 at
\npresent.<\/p>\n
Separately, head of the city office of the Ministry of
\nEducation and Culture Alwi Nurdin stressed that based on a newly
\nreleased gubernatorial decree, elementary school students were
\nexempt from admission fees.<\/p>\n
New junior and high school students are obliged pay Rp 3,500
\nand Rp 4,000 respectively for registration.<\/p>\n
Alwi also said that this year 18,600 out of 100,000 elementary
\nschool graduates could not be accommodated at state junior high
\nschools.<\/p>\n
\"We have channeled them to private junior high schools as
\nthere are still 60,000 seats available,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The administration set aside 10 percent of the seats at state
\njunior high schools for students from Greater Jakarta. (ind)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/principals-told-to-understand-students-plight-1447893297",
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