Gunungkidul closes 33 schools

Gunungkidul closes 33 schools

GUNUNGKIDUL, Yogyakarta: The local administration has closed
33 state elementary schools in Gunungkidul since 2001 due to a
lack of students in the regency.

Teachers and administrative staff from the schools concerned
were transferred to other schools in neighboring areas,
Gunungkidul education office head Wahyu Pujianto said on Tuesday.

"The schools have been merged with others in the regency," he
said.

He added the closures had left dozens of school buildings
abandoned, with many damaged.

The local education office, which oversees the buildings, had
yet to decide whether the buildings would be used for other
purposes or sold to interested parties, added Wahyu.

He blamed the decreasing number of students on the government-
sponsored family planning program aimed at reducing the birth
rate in the country.

The program commenced during former president Soeharto's New
Order regime. It has been widely recognized as a success story
for Indonesia in curbing its population growth. --Antara

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Across-party attribution
Cirebon removes party attributes
JP/5/ACROS

Cirebon removes party attributes

CIREBON, West Java: As the 2004 general elections are drawing
near, public order officials at the Cirebon administration began
on Tuesday to remove party attributes throughout the port city.

Agus Sukmanjaya, head of the Cirebon Public Order Office, said
that the removal was to maintain the tidiness of the city and to
prevent political parties from grabbing a head start on their
rivals ahead of the scheduled start of campaigning.

The official campaign period for political parties will begin
early next year, just a few months before they contest the 2004
elections in April.

Agus gave an assurance that the removal of the attributes,
including flags, banners and posters, would not draw an adverse
reaction from political groups as the administration had reached
an agreement with at least 25 parties in Cirebon.

In a meeting with the parties on Sept. 19, they agreed to pull
down hundreds of their own attributes before Sept. 30, but failed
to do so by the deadline,

As a consequence, local public order officers moved to rid the
city of party attributes.

Agus said that within 10 days Cirebon would be free of them.
--JP

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Across-Unpad-russionday
Unpad to present 'Russian Day'
JP/5/ACRO

Unpad to present 'Russian Day'

BANDUNG: Padjadjaran University (Unpad), in cooperation with
the Russian Cultural Center, will organize a two-day program to
mark "Russian Day" at the Sanusi Harjadinata building, Bandung,
starting Oct. 8.

Unpad public relations head Hadi Suprapto Arifin said on
Tuesday that Russian Day would be held to boost bilateral
relations between Jakarta and Moscow within the field of
education.

"Moreover, Indonesia has long since cooperated with Russia in
the social field, and in culture and technology," he added.

He said several activities were scheduled to be held on
Russian Day, including an international seminar themed, "How to
realize mutually friendly relations between Indonesia and
Russia."

The seminar will feature speakers from the Ministry of
Industry and Trade, and experts from the Russian Embassy.

Other activities include a speech contest involving students
from Unpad's schools of Russian literature and international
relations. The contest is titled, "What do I know about Russia?"

An exhibition of Russian souvenirs, song and dance by Russian
literature students will also be held. --Antara