Schools need US$159m in loans

Schools need US$159m in loans

JAKARTA: The Ministry of National Education is seeking soft
loans of up to US$150 million to finance the development of
vocational schools across the country.

"The loans are meant to finance vocational education across
the country in 2005, because we do not have enough money to
support the program," Indra was quoted by Antara as saying on
Friday.

According to Indra, the ministry would ask for the loans from
several international financial organizations such as the Asian
Development Bank (ADB).

About 5,000 vocational schools across the country are designed
to produce graduates of sufficient caliber to enter the
workforce.

Indra said some five million people graduate from the schools
every year.

He also said that the funds would be used to set national
standards for these vocational schools that could meet the
requirements of the country's businesses.

In the 2004 state budget, the ministry had a budgetary
allocation of Rp 18 trillion, or around 13 percent of the
country's total development budget. -- Antara.