W. Sumatra needs more teachers

PADANG, West Sumatra: The local office of the Ministry of Education and Culture said West Sumatra needs 6,527 more primary school teachers, including 5,889 to teach religion.

The office's chief, Ismed Syarif, said the shortage is hampering the administration's education goals, Antara reported.

Ismed said there are 31,330 primary teachers in the province, teaching 689,875 pupils in 25,637 classes at 4,224 schools.

He said the administration has managed to reduce the number of children who dropped out of school after completing primary school to only 8.26 percent of all primary school graduates. Five years ago, the drop-out rate was nearly 38 percent.

He said there is now a growing awareness among parents to send their children to high schools. In the past, many parents, especially in rural areas, preferred to use their children to work on their farms. (emb)