Teachers provide schooling for remote hamlet<\/p>\n
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Cilacap, Central Java<\/p>\n
The hamlet of Pasuruan in Ujung Alang village in Kampung Laut
\nsubdistrict, Cilacap, located adjacent to the notorious Central
\nJava island of Nusakambangan and its maximum security prison, is
\nonly a two-hour ride by motorized boat from Cilacap's Seleko
\nPort.<\/p>\n
Yet, the hamlet is nothing like the regental capital of
\nCilacap.<\/p>\n
No asphalt roads run through the area, nor do public
\ntransportation connect villagers of one village to another.
\nSimple motorized vessels, often rafts made of logs equipped with
\na diesel engine, are the main mode of transportation for locals.<\/p>\n
The neighborhood is no less rustic, with houses mostly built
\nof bamboo, wood or a mixture of the two. The narrow dirt paths
\nthat lead from one house to another usually crack during the dry
\nseason, and is a slippery mud path during the rainy season.<\/p>\n
Still, the local villagers are keen about their children
\ngetting an education -- as is their wish to have an elementary
\nschool in their neighborhood. It takes at least an hour's walk to
\nthe nearest state elementary school in Motean, SDN 01 Ujung
\nAlang, not to mention the grueling journey to reach the school.<\/p>\n
\"It's really a long, hard walk for an elementary-level child,\"
\nsaid a Pasuruan mother of three.<\/p>\n
The shorter -- but no less difficult -- way to get to the
\nschool is by boat. However, the Rp 4,000 round-trip fare is
\nconsidered too costly by locals, the majority of whom are farmers
\nor fishermen.<\/p>\n
Of course, the commuting fee would rise if a family has more
\nthan one child attending school.<\/p>\n
Under such conditions, the need for an elementary school in
\nPasuruan is so great that the villagers have been satisfied with
\ndistance-learning classes from SDN 01 Ujung Alang -- even though
\nonly a single teacher is available for first, second and third
\ngrade.<\/p>\n
To accommodate the classes, the villagers built a humble,
\nbamboo shelter of five by nine meters on a plot of land owned by
\nthe village council.<\/p>\n
\"All the materials and the construction were provided
\nvoluntarily by the locals,\" said Sugeng, the founder and teacher
\nof the distance-learning classes in Pasuruan.<\/p>\n
Opened in 2001, the program's first grade class has eight
\nstudents, the second grade has nine students and the third grade
\nhas 22 students. Sugeng is responsible for all three, although he
\nsaid he had never been trained as a teacher.<\/p>\n
Sugeng is from Adipala subdistrict in Cilacap, where he still
\nlives with his Pasuruan-born wife, Manisen, and their three
\nchildren.<\/p>\n
Sugeng is a graduate of an Adipala high school, and responded
\nto Pasuruan's educational needs, as no teacher seemed willing to
\ncome and teach there. He proposed to teach the distance-learning
\nclass from the outset.<\/p>\n
\"I learned, and am still learning, how to teach a subject by
\nreading the teachers' guides published by the Ministry of
\nNational Education, which have been provided by SDN 01 Ujung
\nAlang,\" said Sugeng.<\/p>\n
He added that he had not yet encountered any difficulties in
\ncarrying out his job -- mostly because the subjects were
\nrelatively basic and uncomplicated.<\/p>\n
Initially, with only a single class in the one classroom
\navailable, Sugeng started school in the morning. Now, however, as
\nthere are three classes and still only one classroom, he had no
\nchoice but to stagger the classes: First grade starts at 7 a.m.
\nand finishes at 9 a.m., second grade runs from 9:30 a.m. to 11
\na.m. and third grade is from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.<\/p>\n
With his civil servant position as teacher's aide, Sugeng
\nreceives an honorarium of Rp 300,000 every three months from SDN
\n01 Ujung Alang, the host school. The students each pay Rp 6,000
\nto attend the distance-learning class, of which SDN 01 retains Rp
\n1,000 and Sugeng receives the remainder.<\/p>\n
All in all, Sugeng earns Rp 295,000 a month to run the three
\nclasses, but he frequently contributes some of this to support
\noperational costs of the school.<\/p>\n
\"It's not the amount that matters, but providing education for
\nthe children,\" said Sugeng. To help support the family, his wife
\nopened a kiosk at home, selling staple foods and other daily
\nneeds.<\/p>\n
During the first two years of the distance-learning class, the
\nstudents did not receive any religious instruction, which is a
\nkey component of the national curriculum.<\/p>\n
Sugeng said he did not have the capacity to provide such
\ninstruction, as he had insufficient knowledge on the subject.<\/p>\n
Thanks to a retired religion teacher, Sobari, who formerly
\ntaught at an elementary school for children of Nusakambangan
\nprison employees, Pasuruan distance-learning students have been
\nreceiving instruction in Islam for the past year -- something
\ntheir parents had long yearned.<\/p>\n
Sobari teaches voluntarily because of the limited space, and
\nholds his class in the afternoon. He supports his family by money
\nmade from selling T-shirts and from his pension.<\/p>\n
\"I consider this my good deed. I hope only for a reward from
\nAllah the Almighty,\" Sobari said.<\/p>",
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