Navy suffers lack of applicants

Navy suffers lack of applicants

JAKARTA: With just nine days remaining before the closing of
applications for its new school year, the Navy Academy has only
registered 1,000 high school graduates.

Secretary to Navy spokesperson Col. Fikri S. Guciano said that
in the past few years the number of applicants had reached 4,000.

Registration for new recruits will close on April 12.

"We are still finding out why the number of applicants has
been so low. It could be because we have set the standards too
high, but we don't know yet," Fikri said. The Navy, he added, had
not yet decided whether to extend the deadline.

He said it was impossible to relax the requirements,
particularly on levels of physical fitness.

Applicants are restricted to high school graduates aged
between 18 and 22 years old on Aug. 6, 2002. They must have
achieved a minimum state final exam score of 41 for those
majoring in physics and 45 for social sciences. The minimum score
for those graduating this year has not yet been decided. --
Antara