TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Ashamed of bad grades, E. Java schoolchildren set books on fire
A classroom at a state elementary school in Sumberjo, Lamongan, East Java, was set ablaze on Wednesday afternoon after four schoolchildren reportedly set fire to 21 grade report books.
Change Size
Sumberjo school principal Wiku Handoko shows a picture of the aftermath of a classroom fire on his mobile phone. (Courtesy/BeritaMetro)
A
span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px; line-height: 20.8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">A classroom at a state elementary school in Sumberjo, Lamongan, East Java, was set ablaze on Wednesday afternoon after four schoolchildren reportedly set fire to 21 grade report books.
Sumberjo elementary school principal Wiku Handoko said the four students had told investigators that they were ashamed of being scolded for getting the worst marks in the classroom.
“They admitted that they were ashamed for being scolded by their classmates for getting bad marks in the final exam even though the result of the final exam has not yet been announced by the teachers,” Wiku Handoko was quoted as saying by local news outlet Berita Metro.
According to Wiku, the incident took place at 2:45 p.m..
“I was contacted by Pak Abdul Wahab, the school caretaker, who told me that the fifth-grade classroom was on fire,” he said.
The fire was immediately extinguished.
“After I questioned some eyewitnesses, I found out that the fire had been set by those four students,” he said.
Sarirejo Police chief Adj. Comr. Wisnu Prasetyo said the students, MA, MZ, RS and HT had been taken to the police station for further questioning.
Wisnu said the students broke into the locked classroom through the window. “They took out all books from the cupboard and set them on fire inside the classroom,” he said.
Police did not detain the students, as they are underage.
“Currently, the case is being handled by our women and child protection unit,” Wisnu said. (dmr)
