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