Students sit on floors

Students sit on floors

MATARAM, West Nusa Tenggara: Lack of financial resources to
equip elementary schools with even the most basic furnishings has
forced children in several schools in the province to sit and
study on the floor.

Head of the provincial education and culture office, M.
Soelkan, said he was concerned by the sorry state of many
schools.

"I see a lot of students sitting on the floor and crouching
down with their books when they have to write," he said after a
visit to several schools in Lombok.

During his tour, he saw at least three elementary schools
which lacked a sufficient number of desks and chairs, Antara
reported.

He said he would ask other schools which had extra furniture,
including items needing repair, to send them to the needy
schools.

Meanwhile, the headmaster of elementary school 10 in Tanjung,
Bima regency, HM Yasin, has imposed a policy of asking each new
student to bring one chair to school.

He said he introduced the policy so students would not have to
sit on the floor, adding that a request for new chairs and tables
to the Bima education office had proved fruitless.

"However, this year none of the new students has brought any
chairs to school. Last year it worked quite well as we collected
50 chairs," he said.