BRIEFLY: Students kept out of ceremony

YACHIYO, Chiba Prefecture--Two first-year students were not allowed to participate in an enrollment ceremony at a prefectural high school here because their parents failed to pay admission fees on time, sources said.

The two were told to wait in classrooms while other students attended the ceremony at Yachiyo-Nishi High School last Tuesday.

They were admitted to the school after their parents paid 90,000 yen in tuition, admission and other fees, after the ceremony.

The school said it asked parents in March to contact its officials if they had difficulties paying the fees by the time of the ceremony.

An official said it was an "agonizing decision" to make.

In a written request, the union of teachers at public high schools in Chiba Prefecture called on Governor Akiko Domoto to be more flexible with students whose families face financial difficulties.(IHT/Asahi: April 15,2008)