Ten gifted students unable to pay IPB fees

Theresia Sufa, Bogor

Ten new students who have been admitted to the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) due to their high grades did not show up for the registration because they could not afford the fees.

The institute deputy rector Yusuf Sudohadi said on Thursday that the 10 students had sent letters to the institute, saying they could not come to register themselves because they did not have the money.

"We have sent letters to the regents and mayors of the students' hometowns, asking them to sponsor the students. However, to date we haven't received any response from the respective regents or mayors," he said.

"We will wait until next month... in the meantime, we will think of a solution to the problem. We hope to provide scholarships, so they can come soon to join the others in the new academic year that will start in September," he added.

All the 10 students come from outside Java island, Yusuf said.

"It will be a pity if they are unable to come because of financial constraints. We admitted them to the institute without any test, meaning they are smart students and their grades are above average."

For the 2004/2005 academic year, the institute has admitted 2,370 new students without requiring them to undergo an admissions test based on their academic achievements at high school. From the figure, only 1,930, or 81.43 percent, have showed up.

Of the 1,930 new students, high school teachers financed the deposit and other fees for 11 of them.

"We finally managed to provide scholarships (for the tuition fees) for the 11 students. Their parents only earn around Rp 1 million (US$110) per year," Yusuf said, adding that the 11 students come from Java island.

The new students have to complete administrative procedures including the payment of Rp 1.5 million in tuition fees per semester, Rp 900,000 for dormitory accommodation plus a Rp 375,000 deposit and other fees amounting to Rp 400,000 to secure their admission to IPB.