Students make do with village hall for classroom<\/p>\n
Muhammad Uzair, The Jakarta Post\/Palembang<\/p>\n
Pupils of an elementary school in Banyuasin regency here attend
\nclasses in the village hall, after strong winds leveled their
\nschool to the ground last month.<\/p>\n
\"Had the school collapsed during school hours, many would have
\nbeen injured,\" said Usman, an official of the Sebubus subdistrict
\noffice, where the school -- Pangkalanbalai State Elementary
\nSchool No.1 -- is located.<\/p>\n
According to Usman, only classroom furniture and some files
\ncould be salvaged from the wreckage.<\/p>\n
Despite reports filed in the wake of the incident more than a
\nmonth ago, there has been no response from the Banyuasin National
\nEducation Office.<\/p>\n
Even before the school collapsed, the local subdistrict office
\nand the school administration had submitted several requests for
\nthe repair or renovation of the building.<\/p>\n
\"We fixed the school ourselves several times, including
\nreplacing planks. No government official has paid attention to
\nthe plight of the school,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The school was to be rebuilt by the South Sumatra
\nadministration in 2002, but only the foundation was laid, due to
\na lack of funds.<\/p>\n
Local residents decided the village hall would be suitable for
\nschool activities.<\/p>\n
\"We have partitioned the hall so that the spaces appear like
\nclassrooms and have brought in chairs, desks and blackboards from
\nthe school,\" said Sebubus village head Mustofa AG.<\/p>\n
\"There are about 150 elementary schools in need of restoration
\nin Banyuasin,\" said Banyuasin Regent H. Amiruddin Inoed recently.<\/p>\n
Only 20 to 30 schools can be renovated yearly due to the
\nregency's limited funds. \"We will make it a priority to rebuild
\nthe school in Sebubus,\" said Amiruddin.<\/p>\n
The school is also facing a shortage of teachers.<\/p>\n
There are only three teachers at the school: Ahlan, who is
\nalso the principal, Elly, a permanent teacher and Sumiyati, a
\ntemporary teacher. They take turns teaching first grade through
\nto sixth grade students.<\/p>\n
\"The teachers have difficulties if one of them is absent. We
\nare very concerned about the lack of teachers and also the
\nreconstruction of the school,\" said Usman.<\/p>\n
The teachers' welfare has also been affected by the situation.
\n\"This probably reduces the teachers' performance and we hope the
\ngovernment will look into the problem seriously,\" said Usman.<\/p>\n
The situation faced by the elementary school is typical of
\nconditions at many elementary schools nationwide, especially in
\npoor and remote areas.<\/p>",
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