Officials discuss grant guidelines

JAKARTA: The City Council's Commission E on people's welfare met with officials of the City Elementary Education Agency on Tuesday to discuss guidelines on the use of the scholarship grants for schools following reports of alleged misuse of the funds by some schools.

Commission chairman Dani Anwar said it would require the agency to make specific guidelines to avoid various interpretations of the clauses.

"School budget allocations must be stated in detail," said Dani.

The grants have come under the spotlight after the council discovered that a school had used the scholarship fund intended for disadvantaged students to purchase an air-conditioner and TV set for the school principal.

The meeting was initially scheduled to take place at the agency's office on Jl. Jatinegara Timur, East Jakarta, but was later moved to a hotel in Central Jakarta. Commission members were informed of the change of venue at the last minute, raising suspicions that officials were trying to evade the media. --JP