12,000 children cannot afford basic schooling

12,000 children cannot afford basic schooling

JAKARTA (JP): Around 12,000 children in the capital who are of
elementary school age will not be able to obtain formal education
in the coming school year, but the city administration can afford
to help one fourth of them only.

Head of the City Education Agency Masrul Nim said on Tuesday
that poverty was the main reason for their absence from school.

"The children's parents think that school fees will cost them
so much that they cannot afford them because they are poor
people," Masrul told reporters.

He said the city administration planned to cover the school
expenses of 600 children who will go to state elementary schools
in 15 poor subdistricts across the capital.

Besides exempting them from school fees, the children will
receive a pair of shoes and four uniforms each when the school
year begins in mid-July.

The city administration has allocated Rp 516 million
(US$46,909) from its 2001 budget to finance the program, Masrul
said. Based on the budget allocation, a student will cost the
city Rp 860,000.

It remains unclear whether the scholarship program for the
children will continue next year.

Masrul said last year the city administration also helped
another 600 school newcomers.

The city has 2,408 state elementary schools, 544 of them are
located in poor subdistricts.

There are around 800,000 elementary school children in the
capital, with more than 75 percent of them attending state run
schools.

Elementary schools appointed to admit the poor children for
the upcoming academic year are located in South Petojo, Galur and
Karang Anyar in Central Jakarta, Kampung Manggis, Kebayoran Lama
and Manggarai in South Jakarta, Kampung Melayu, Rawa Bunga and
North Cipinang Besar in East Jakarta, Cilincing, Papanggo and
Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta and Tegal Alur, Kapuk and Kamal in
West Jakarta.

Besides providing scholarships for poor children, Masrul said
that the city administration had also planned to provide
education for 2,500 street children this year.

"The street children will learn reading, writing and religious
studies," he said.

He said that groups of 10 street children would join a class
in a nearby public place, such as community unit (RW) office.

He said to help the students, the city administration was
seeking 250 teachers.

"The teachers will receive an honorarium and transportation
fees," Masrul said, without mentioning the amount of funds needed
to finance the program.

He said the students, most of them street singers and traders,
could join the program without disrupting their daily work. (jun)