W. Sumatra needs more teachers

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)