N. Sumatra lack teachers, schools

N. Sumatra lack teachers, schools

MEDAN, North Sumatra: North Sumatra is in dire need of more elementary school teachers and buildings to accommodate junior high school students, an official said.

Head of the provincial education office Nazaruddin Hisyam, estimated on Tuesday that 16,000 elementary teachers and 250 junior high school buildings were needed.

He said Nias island was in most urgent need of teachers.

A school building costs the province around Rp 1 billion (US$110,619), according to Nazaruddin.

"It means we need around Rp 250 billion to accommodate our needs. We admit, however, that our budget is limited. We advise the North Sumatra administration to allocate between 20 percent and 25 percent of the provincial budget for education.

The office has received this year's development fund amounting to Rp 161.71 billion from the state budget and Rp 6.085 billion from the province. --JP