Kupang – Hundreds of students and activists grouped in the Kupang Education and Health Awareness Forum staged protest Monday against the 2006 provincial draft budget, which is slated to be approved Feb. 17.

The protest was organized after the provincial legislature only allocated Rp 43 billion (US$4.3 million) for education and Rp 57 billion for the health sector in the Rp 500 billion budget proposal.

The protesters urged councillors to focus more on education and health, because both are directly related to people's welfare.

"The province has the lowest rate of spending on education and health compared to other provinces in Indonesia. So it is somewhat strange that both these sectors are allocated the least money in the 2006 budget," the protest's coordinator, Veronika Mongkor, said during a meeting with council speaker Melkianus Adoe and other councillors.

"In 2005, 59 children died of malnutrition. More than 470,000 children suffered malnutrition. Where's the support from the government and council members?" she asked.