230,000 students in Lampung could be forced out of school

Oyos Saroso HN, The Jakarta Post, Bandar Lampung

Participation in the National Child Sponsorship Movement (GNOTA) is another victim of the continuing economic crisis, leaving more than 230,000 elementary and high school students in Lampung facing the prospect of having to drop out of school.

According to a survey conducted late last year in the province, the number of dropouts could double in the next four of five years if economic growth remains stagnant.

"It has been four years of economic crisis for the nation, and more and more people can no longer meet their daily needs and more school-age children will be forced out of school because of financial reasons," Budi Sarwono, the head of the local education office, told The Jakarta Post recently.

According to data gathered by the local office of the National Family Planning Board in 2000, more than 28 percent, or 1.7 million of the more than 6.6 million families in the province were living below the poverty line.

Budi said that foreign aid was not sufficient to address the problem, and the government had limited funds to finance the nine-year compulsory education program that allows youths to earn at least junior high school diplomas.

"It is impossible for the government totally to finance the compulsory education program for children because of the limited budget allocated for the education sector. Parents have to pay a small monthly tuition fee and provide their children with uniforms, shoes and other school supplies," he said.

Budi said his office had received assistance from the World Bank to provide scholarships for children from poor families, but the assistance was only enough to cover a small number of children.

He appealed to the public to participate in the National Child Sponsorship Movement to help pay for the schooling of poor children.

Nano Andriani, the chairman of the local GNOTA office, said one-third of elementary and high school students in the province could be forced to drop out of school.

"According to our survey, the number of children facing the threat of having to drop out is increasing, while at the same time the level of assistance GNOTA is receiving from the private sector is decreasing," she said.

She said her office had provided scholarships to more than 59,000 elementary and high school students since being established in 1998.

According to the office's policy, an elementary school student is given Rp 60,000 annually for their education, and a high school student receives Rp 90,000 annually.

Andriani said public and private sector participation in the movement had dropped drastically because of the prolonged economic crisis.

"There has been virtually no public participation in the movement over the last two years," she said, adding that her office had received about Rp 300 million annually between 1998 and early 2000 from the private sector and state-owned companies in the province.