'School renovated, but still damaged'<\/p>\n
Many schools in Greater Jakarta are in poor condition, some in
\nsuch disrepair that they are at the point of collapse. It is no
\nsecret that many school buildings are constructed using low-
\nquality materials, despite the huge sums of money the city
\nadministration spends to pay for the buildings. The Jakarta Post
\ndiscussed this important matter with several residents.<\/p>\n
Majid, not his real name, 25, is a member of the Community
\nCommittee Board at an elementary school in Depok, West Java. He
\nworks for a private company in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
I am a member of the committee board at the elementary school
\nin my village. The board was established partly to monitor the
\nmanagement of the school, including school renovations.<\/p>\n
The school collapsed this year and the city administration
\nallocated more than Rp 230 million to renovate it.<\/p>\n
With that much money, the contractor could have built at least
\na two-story elementary school. But in reality the school is still
\nin poor condition.<\/p>\n
The contractor did not renovate the entire building, only
\nparts of it. He fixed parts of the building using material that
\nwas not of good quality. In terms of quality and quantity, the
\ncontractor totally reduced the standard that had been agreed upon
\nin the renovation plan.<\/p>\n
When the renovation was finished, there were no proper chairs
\nand desks for the students. So one of the pupils' parents donated
\nmoney to buy the furniture.<\/p>\n
The entire budget was not spent for the renovation work, but
\nsome of it was distributed to a certain political party and to
\ncity administration officials. Worse, the mayor demanded the
\ncontractor build him a house.<\/p>\n
Iyon, 30, is a construction worker who lives in Cengkareng,
\nWest Jakarta:<\/p>\n
I have been in construction for almost 10 years now. I used to
\nbe a contractor, albeit just a small one.<\/p>\n
I think there are many irregularities in construction
\nprojects. Everybody knows this. I used to do the same thing
\nmyself. Basically, who will refuse easy money, especially in
\ntimes of economic hardship?<\/p>\n
I once got a project worth more than Rp 150 million (from the
\ncity administration). Honestly speaking, I only spent about Rp 70
\nmillion of the total budget. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? But that's
\nthe way construction jobs work. Of course, I didn't get to keep
\nall the money because I had to bribe some people, including city
\nadministration officials. They are all corrupt officials.<\/p>\n
To make more money from projects, I used to get the cheapest
\nmaterials possible that still looked good at a glance.<\/p>\n
When I did a school renovation project I did the same thing.
\nBut then I was just a worker. The contractor conspired with local
\nofficials. He purchased poor quality materials for the building
\nfoundation.<\/p>\n
Many school buildings have collapsed because they don't have a
\nstrong foundation. The contractors used poor quality materials
\nand at the same time marked up the budget.<\/p>\n
Working on construction projects is a lucrative business.<\/p>\n
But it also depends on the mentality of city officials. If
\nthey are honest and monitor the budget, contractors would work
\nmore honestly. At least they would steal far less money for fear
\nof the legal consequences.<\/p>\n
Atik, 59, is an elementary school teacher in Halim, East
\nJakarta. She lives in Bekasi with her husband and three children:<\/p>\n
I think the poor condition of school buildings is sometimes
\ncaused by the ignorance of school officials. They don't regularly
\ncheck the buildings.<\/p>\n
But I also wonder about how the education budget is spent. It
\nshould be used properly to keep up the school buildings.<\/p>\n
Perhaps corrupt officials and contractors were dishonest in
\ncarrying out the school renovation projects, spending far less
\nmoney on the work than was indicated in the budget.<\/p>\n
They don't totally renovate the buildings, only fixing parts
\nof the building. So it is no use because the buildings will soon
\nbe in disrepair again.<\/p>\n
-- Leo Wahyudi S<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/school-renovated-but-still-damaged-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }