Wealthy people urged to help poor students<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso is urging affluent parents to
\nassist students from financially troubled families to stay in
\nschool, including donating used uniforms and books.<\/p>\n
He said on Wednesday economically disadvantaged students badly
\nneeded help from the government and their wealthier schoolmates
\nto enable them to get through the hardship.<\/p>\n
\"I know there must be a lot of people out there, especially
\nthose whose children have grown up and left their books and
\nuniforms, who would be happy to give away the stuff to children
\nof poor families.\"<\/p>\n
He encouraged cash-strapped parents to keep their children in
\nschool, even if it required them wearing used uniforms.<\/p>\n
\"There's nothing to be ashamed of having children wearing used
\nuniforms or using used books. I did not feel ashamed myself when
\nas a student I went to the Pasar Ular flea market to find
\nsecondhand stuffs.\"<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso said the administration would do its utmost to help
\nensure students got an education.<\/p>\n
\"We'll try to get some money from some items in the budget
\nwhich can still be utilized. I think I'll use also some amount
\nout of my tactical budget to help subsidize the school fees for
\nthe children.\"<\/p>\n
The head of the city office of the Ministry of Education and
\nCulture, Alwi Nurdin, said the number of elementary and junior
\nhigh schools students not continuing their education this year
\nincreased by at least 10 percent from last year.<\/p>\n
\"We believe the main reason behind it is the worsening
\nmonetary crisis, even though we have not been able to prove it
\nwith detailed statistics.\"<\/p>\n
Alwi disclosed the number of grade and junior high school
\ngraduates who dropped out this year reached about 23,537 and
\n66,852, respectively.<\/p>\n
He said his office would set up a committee to help subsidize
\nthe tuition fees of students of poor families for one year
\nstarting next month. Each student would receive Rp 20,000 per
\nmonth, he added.<\/p>\n
Deputy Governor for Social Welfare Affairs Djailani encouraged
\npoor families to make use of the government's facility to get
\nexemption of school entrance and monthly tuition fees by applying
\nfor the financial status document at their respective subdistrict
\noffices.<\/p>\n
Djailani reminded the subdistrict officials not to obstruct
\npoor families by charging extraneous fees for the applications.<\/p>\n
He also warned subdistrict heads not to manipulate data on the
\nnumber of dropouts or poor families in their areas merely to save
\nface.<\/p>\n
City councilor Soeparmo, head of Commission E for social
\nwelfare affairs, said Tuesday demand for the financial status
\ndocument surged after the monetary crisis hit the country.<\/p>\n
\"Hardly anyone applied for such document a couple of years
\nago. Many still find it embarrassing to let people and officials
\nknow that they are poor,\" he said. (cst)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/wealthy-people-urged-to-help-poor-students-1447893297",
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