Elementary graduates run school

Elementary graduates run school

KOTABARU, South Kalimantan: Disappointed with the government's
insensitivity to their educational needs, two elementary school
graduates in Muara Ore village, Hampang district, South
Kalimantan, decided to build a makeshift school for 153 school-
aged children there.

"We've been waiting for eons to get educational facilities
from the government," local resident Joni Usman complained.

"We hope our move will prompt the government to provide
education for our children because we are afraid they would grow
up as illiterates," he added.

The two elementary school graduates were identified as Muhardi
and Johansyah.

Head of the Kotabaru Education Office Ansyori Suryadi that it
was impossible to build a school there.

"I have suggested that the people move their houses from the
mountains so the government can build a permanent school for
their children but they do not want to leave their ancestral
land," he said. --Antara