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ore than one-third of 24,000 junior high school graduates in Central Java’s Banyumas are unable to afford their tuition fees, the Banyumas Education Agency reported.

According to the agency, around 9,000 students are unlikely to enroll in senior high school, similar to the dropout rate last year. At the elementary level, 2,000, graduates cannot continue, higher than the 1,500 students in 2011.

Parents have complained about the high tuition fees in the city. “The state technical high school demands a Rp 4.5 million [US$477] entry fee,” said parent Mulyono (not his real name) on Friday. “If I do not pay the fee, they say my kid will be kicked out of school,” he added. Mulyono filed a complaint at the Regional Representatives Council on Friday.

Apenk Sunarto of the Education Agency said economic factors were to blame.