Student exams may be free: Minister

Student exams may be free: Minister

SEMARANG: Minister of National Education Bambang Sudibyo
announced on Thursday that there must be no charge demanded from
students for the national exams scheduled for May and June.

"The government has allocated Rp 250 billion for the exams and
there must not be any charge for it," Bambang said during a visit
to Semarang, Central Java, to monitor the preparations of the
upcoming national exams there.

Despite the House of Representatives approving the immediate
distribution of the money last week, many schools have not yet
received any of the money, however Bambang promised to deliver it
to them this week at he latest.

The minister said local administrations would be authorized to
impose sanctions on schools found to be demanding exam fees from
their students.

The national exams will be held on May 30 through June 1 for
senior high school students and on June 6 through June 8 for
junior high school students. --Antara