School sealed, pupils in limbo

PADANG, West Sumatra: A tribal leader has closed an elementary school built on the tribe's land in the Lubuk Minturun region since Monday, disrupting the learning activities of the students.

Some students from the Sungai Lareh elementary school have been forced to study outside the building, while others have attended lessons at a nearby school.

Guci tribe leader M. Yusuf, who is the owner of the land, sealed off the school after the regional government refused to employ a tribe member in the school's administrative staff in return for the use of the land. -- JP