Primary school students rally in Bandung

BANDUNG, West Java: Hundreds of elementary school students staged a rally in front of the West Java provincial legislature building, demanding the local administration to waive their monthly school fees.

The students protesters, who gathered together from numerous primary schools in Bandung regency, marched down Jl. Diponegoro in the city center holding banners reading Mbak Mega, perhatikan kami (Mbak Mega, pay attention to us) and Indonesia maju tanpa pendidikan. Mimpi kali ye? (Indonesia progresses without education -- are you dreaming?)

The protesters also demanded local authorities to repair education facilities and improve the quality of education.

Iqbal, a student at privately run Hikmah Teladan Primary School in Cimahi, said the monthly tuition at his school was between Rp 40,000 and Rp 60,000 per student, and that the fee had overburdened the students' parents, as they also had to purchase textbooks and uniforms annually.

Deden, a teacher who accompanied his students in the rally, said more than 30,000 children in the regency could not go to school because of financial constraints. --JP