More Aceh pupils quit schools

BANDA ACEH, Aceh: Unabated tension caused the school dropout rate in the province to increase to 2.14 percent last year from 1.98 percent the previous year, an official said on Tuesday.

The head of provincial education office, Malik Raden, told Antara many students were forced to quit schools as they followed their parents who sought refuge.

A total of 586,812 children were attending 3,270 elementary schools across the restive province as of Aug. 31, 1999.

To make things worse, Malik said 111 elementary school buildings were burned down by unidentified groups throughout last year. Also set ablaze were 43 junior high schools, 15 high schools and one vocational school building.

The political instability had driven 517 migrant teachers to leave the province, Malik added. (amd)