Regency sets aside money for students

Regency sets aside money for students

JAYAPURA, Papua: The Puncak Jaya regency in Papua has
allocated Rp 6 billion of this year's budget to help finance the
education of Papuan students across Indonesia.

Israel Mom, secretary of the regency's educational planning
agency, said here on Thursday the money would help improve the
quality of local human resources, who would in turn contribute to
the development of the province.

Some of the money also will be spent to repair dormitories for
Puncak Jaya students living outside of Papua, including those in
Makassar, Manado, Yogyakarta, Jakarta and Bali, he said.

Mom said the regency, particularly its remote areas, had a
shortage of teachers, forcing the local administration to send
Papuans outside of the province to study under the government's
scholarship program.

This lack of teachers has hampered the development of
education in the province, he said.

"Therefore, the Papuan government, through special autonomy,
will prioritize education, in addition to health, infrastructure
and the local people's economy," Mom said. --Antara