Tuition blues get female relief

JAKARTA (JP): A group of Jakarta housewives donated Rp 7 million (US$825) yesterday to students at the state-run Jenderal Sudirman University who had been barred from sitting their exams because they could not afford to pay their tuition fees.

The women offered the donation to the students at the university based in Purwokerto, Central Java, after reading a recent report in The Jakarta Post on the students' fate.

Two representatives from the university -- Ekwanto from the administration office and Edy Yuwono, a lecturer from the biology faculty -- and one of the students came to Jakarta yesterday to collect the donation.

"We still have to calculate exactly how many will be able to receive assistance with this donation," said Edy Yuwono.

The donations were collected from 10 families organized by the wives of foreign company Lucent Technologies. They said they were touched at the plight of the students and felt moved to help and contribute a little something back into the community. (mds)