60,000 students might drop out

60,000 students might drop out

MATARAM, West Nusa Tenggara: Lack of funds will force some
60,000 students in Mataram to leave school early, the West Nusa
Tenggara chapter of the Family Welfare Movement (PKK) said on
Monday.

PKK chairwoman Nuraini Harun Al Rasyid said that the students
received assistance from the central government-sponsored
National Child Sponsorship Movement (GNOTA) in the past, but
their fate was at stake now that the program had been halted due
to the economic crisis.

To help them continue their education, Nuraini suggested that
the local government take over the central government's role in
the fund-raising program.

"We have written to the West Nusa Tenggara governor, asking
the provincial government to allocate money from the provincial
budget for the students," said Nuraini, who is Governor Harun Al
Rasyid's wife.

PKK is now helping 220 students, and expects to assist over
1,000 if the provincial budget for the students is approved. --
Antara