Govt increases minimum legal work age to 15 years

JAKARTA (JP): The government has revised the legal work age to 15 years and above, from 10 years previously, in a bid to reduce child labor and keep more young people in school.

The decision was announced yesterday at the end of the working meeting of ministers under the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Haryono Suyono.

He cited the government's plan to increase cooperation with the National Foster Parents Movement (GNOTA) to make the nine- year compulsory school program a success.

Official data says there are about 2.1 million children working nationwide. The country's population currently stands at 202 million, and children between eight and 14 years old number 34 million.

In cooperation with GNOTA, the government will send two million children aged between seven and 15 to school over the next five years. The program is scheduled to be fully implemented in the 1998-1999 academic year which begins this July.

"With the program, children between seven and 15 years are obliged to go to school. Children whose families cannot afford to send them to school will be helped by the GNOTA," Haryono said after the meeting whose attendees included Minister of Social Services Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, Minister of Home Affairs R. Hartono, Minister of Health F.A. Moeloek and Minister of Education and Culture Wiranto Arismunandar.

He said the government would need between Rp 130 billion and Rp 200 billion (US$25 million) for the program.

"The funds are expected to come from GNOTA aid, the state budget and society."

He added that the Kesejahteraan Mandiri Foundation chaired by President Soeharto had successfully raised Rp 160 billion in public donations while GNOTA, chaired by Soeharto's daughter-in- law Halimah Bambang Trihatmodjo, had accumulated Rp 2 trillion to help economically disadvantaged families educate their children.

The national foster parents movement was established in August 1996 and has since attracted the support of many high-ranking officials at both the national and local levels. Soeharto is its chief patron. (rms)