Jakarta – The prolonged monetary crisis has resulted in six million children dropping out of school in Indonesia, according to the National Education Ministry.

This number does not include thousands of school-aged children who live in refugee camps due to natural disaster or social unrest, The Jakarta post daily on Monday quoted Director General of Elementary and Secondary Education of the ministry Indra Djati Sidi as saying.

As a result, the compulsory education program, that was only extended from six to nine years in 1994, is completely ineffectual, he said.

In an effort to salvage Indonesia's youth amid these inescapable realities, the government recently relaunched the Open Junior High School program for elementary school graduates aged 11 to 18.

The program provides free education for children of poor families, refugees and school-aged children outside the regular education system due to geographical problems, so they can complete the nine year compulsory education program consisting of six years of elementary school and three years of junior high school. Under the program, classes last only four hours a day so students can still help their parents earn money.

The ministry feels that more effort should be made to promote the program, especially under the current socioeconomic climate, said Indra. There are an estimated 400,000 students enrolled in 3,483 open schools in the country.