Crisis impacts on education

Crisis impacts on education

JAMBI: Thousands of children in the province are on the verge
of dropping out of school because their parents can no longer
afford to send them to school, an official has said.

Soegito Soedarmo, an official in the local social affairs
office here, said the sharp decline in many families' income had
left them unable to send their children to school, despite the
government's decision to waive school tuition fees.

"During the 1997/1998 school year, the number of drop outs in
the city of Jambi was 8.740 children. This figure is expected to
increase by 40 percent in the 1998/1999 year," he said as quoted
by Antara yesterday.

He said the overall number of dropouts in the province could
rise above 40,000.

He added that the only way to arrest this worrying trend was
for the community to pitch in and help families facing
difficulties in whatever way possible during these troubled
times.