School enrollment period extended

JAKARTA: The government has extended the school registration period to September in order to accommodate millions of children between the ages of 7 and fifteen who have not yet enrolled, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Haryono Suyono said yesterday.

Haryono told the media that he hoped the extension would encourage poor families to send their children to school. He was accompanied at the media conference by Minister of Education Juwono Sudarsono.

About six million children across the country have yet to enroll in school for the new academic year, Antara said.

The government is calling on poor families to send their children to elementary and junior high schools, which are free. Starting from the fourth grade, children from poor families can in fact obtain scholarships of Rp 120,000 a year, Haryono said. (swe)