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chool-aged children in Timika, Papua, apparently prefer scavenging for recyclable items, such as used soft drink cans, to attending school, as they can sell the items and earn money to supplement their families' income.

Their presence is easily noticeable along the roads in Timika city. They carry sacks on their backs, filling them with scrap items found in the city's garbage dumps, drains and canals.

Most of them are elementary school dropouts, something which can be attributed to the low level of awareness among parents of the importance of education. This problem must be resolved immediately to prevent school-aged children from scavenging on the streets in Timika. Parents must encourage their children to attend school for the sake of a better future.

The issue was raised by Kantius Yoseph Amereyauw, cultural leader of the Kamoro Community Tribal Council (Lemasko) and head of the Mimika Education Council, in Timika recently.

Amereyauw said that based on recent observations, he found many street children gathering scraps, especially empty soft drink cans, to sell to make money for their families.

"I often ask teachers why the children, mostly native Papuans, do not attend school and are found on the streets collecting scraps, and they couldn't answer my question," he said.

Amereyauw expressed grave concerns over the inferior standard of education in Mimika for native Papuan children as most of them have dropped out of school and live on the streets. He said that most of the school-aged children do not attend school, likely due to their parents' ignorance on the importance of formal education.

"This is of grave concern to the local community in regards to the education progress of native Papuan children in Timika and those living in remote and mountainous areas of Mimika. I hope parents and the regency administration will look into the issue seriously and address it immediately for the sake of the children's future," Amereyauw said.

Pius Ilimagay, an Amungme tribal elder in Aramsolki village in Agimuga district, said parents in the village tend to lack awareness of the importance of education, as they continue the practice of taking their children to farm in the forest.

"Parents remain taking their children to farm in the jungle for months, thus forcing classrooms to be empty of students despite the presence of teachers. Parents should not blame teachers who return home, because they have no one to teach," Ilimagay said.

He added the government should play a bigger role in encouraging parents in remote and mountainous areas of Mimika to be more aware of the importance of education for their children.

"I hope parents in remote areas of Mimika will persuade their children to go to school because education is very important for the progress of an area," he said.

Head of the financial division at the Mimika regency administration Yohanes Bassang said his office had focused the regency budget and special autonomy funds on education and healthcare in an effort to empower the community. The administration is focusing these development programs on five disadvantaged districts.

"We have prioritized healthcare services, education and community empowerment in the development program by setting aside funds from the regency budget and special autonomy funds for Mimika," Bassang said.

He added the special autonomy funds stood at Rp 53 billion (US$4.8 million), while the regency budget amounted at Rp 1,4 trillion this year.