So young, so broke

JAKARTA (JP): Accompanied by their mother, three pupils of an elementary school in East Jakarta went to the Ministry of Women's Affairs to ask for money for their school fees Thursday.

Ucok, 7, Romy Saputra, 9, and Mirna Julita, 12, all students of SDN Jatinegara 13 public elementary school, went to the office in their uniforms.

"We can't pay their tuition fees this month. Their teachers keep asking them about it and the children cannot stand it," their mother, Nurhayati, told a ministry bureaucrat.

She said that her husband had no regular job and that she had been trying to find foster parents for her children.

The official, Jufrinal, told her to write to the minister about her plight and request for assistance, Antara reported. (pan)