29,394 children targeted in foster-parent drive
JAKARTA (JP): Almost 30,000 children will hopefully be able to enter or complete elementary school this year through scholarships from the public.
According to the city's office in charge of elementary education, at least 29,394 children of elementary school age have yet to receive help.
They were part of the targeted total of 64,868 children in last year's foster-parent drive, first introduced by the Ministry of Education and Culture in 1984.
Yesterday President Soeharto gave a new boost to the drive to make sure all children follow the compulsory nine-year basic education program.
"Although we haven't managed to reach all the targeted children, we can say there are already many who are concerned about the children's welfare," Suyatno, an officer of the city's bureau in charge of social affairs said yesterday.
Twenty-seven banks, companies and foundations are involved in the city level of the drive, apart from many individuals, he said.
The bureau coordinates the foster-parent drive, through which payments for at least one child can be made either through branches of the Bank DKI or Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI).
Annual scholarships are Rp 60,000 (US$26.09) for elementary education, and Rp 90,000 for junior high school.
However, yesterday BRI staff in West Jakarta said the bank accounts were not operating yet.
"We have just received the forms from the central BRI bank but the accounts are not opened yet," Hesty told The Jakarta Post. She said the accounts would be opened as soon as possible, and that the staff is still studying instructions from the central BRI bank on Jl. Cut Mutiah, Central Jakarta.
Among the questions in the form is whether the "foster parent" wants annual reports of the child's development.
An activist working with child workers, Roostien Ilyas, said earlier the compulsory nine-year education program is not followed by necessary steps to include working children.
Efforts to pick up street children and put them in schools or non-formal education is still limited to a handful of children, she said. (anr/yns)