Islamic schools lack students

KEDIRI, East Java: At least 200 Islamic elementary schools here are suffering from a shortage of students. The schools normally accommodate at least 60 students, but now have fewer than 50 students each, said Umi Hanik, the chief of Islamic Schools and Religious Education at the Kediri Religious Affairs Office.

There are 220 Islamic elementary schools in the regency, 20 of them state schools and the rest privately run. The shortage of students is attributed to the growing number of parents who prefer to send their children to general schools, said Umi. -- Antara