IPB students escape paying tuition

BOGOR: At least 1,134 of some 19,500 non-degree and undergraduate students enrolled at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) have not paid their tuition for the 2002-2003 academic year.

The deputy rector of the institute, Herry Suhardiyanto, said on Thursday that the students would be suspended for not paying their tuition. The total amount of unpaid tuition is Rp 850 million.

Of IPB's 12,727 undergraduate students, 1,134 have not paid their tuition, while a further 2,332 students of the 6,750 enrolled in its non-degree programs have also not paid.

The institute's financial target for last academic year was Rp 15.8 billion, while this year's target is Rp 16.2 billion.

Herry said that many students had failed to pay their tuition because of economic hardship or a lack of discipline. --JP