120 schools in Bekasi need to be repaired

120 schools in Bekasi need to be repaired

BEKASI (JP): About 120 schools in Bekasi need repairs which
will cost at least Rp 1 billion (US$415.6 million), Bekasi's
regent, M. Djamhari said yesterday.

Speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony for a public elementary
school in the Lippo Cikarang complex, Djamhari said Bekasi needed
build more schools and fix many schools.

"Bekasi still needs more than 357 elementary schools for
525,000 students and about 120 schools are in very bad condition
and need to be repaired," he said.

Lippo Cikarang, opened in 1992, is an industrial park complex
with public houses and schools.

Lippo Cikarang's president, Herman Latief, pledged Lippo
Cikarang would support private and public schools in the complex.

Building public facilities was an obligation for private
developers, he said.

The Bekasi administration has urged private developers to help
repair state-run schools.

Djamhari said the company was helping the government's call
for a nine-year education program.

Herman said it his company was obsessed with being part of the
government's education program.

"We intend to keep helping build schools which are also
accessible for people outside the complex," he said.

If possible the company would help build high schools,
vocational schools, and state-owned teachers' training colleges
over the next three years.

"On this occasion, I invite companies to assist our efforts in
basic education, by building schools or helping repair them," he
said.

The new school will be called Lippo Cikarang Public Elementary
School, and will be on 5,000 hectares. The school will have 16
rooms, including class rooms, a library, a mosque, and a sick
bay.

There will also be a park, a sports field, and a car park. The
building will be handled by the company, but maintenance and
further usage will be managed by the local administration.

In response to whether all these facilities would make the
school expensive, Herman said fees would remain at the
government-set level of Rp 2,000 a month and that parents would
not have to contribute to building costs.

Parents often complain that they are asked to contribute to
school or study needs on top of the monthly fee.

Herman told Djamhari that Lippo could help by increasing
teachers' monthly salaries and Djamhari accepted this.

"If that's the case the contributions from parents for
teachers, which often reach Rp 10,000 a month, can be done
away with," he said.

Herman said the developer had also got permission to help
build a Presidential Instruction elementary school. These are
schools built with money from the presidential budget with their
own requirements.

Private firms can help with the building and local Ministry of
Education and Culture offices will manage the buildings.

"We're grateful we got the permits, because it was difficult,
there are so many requirements," Herman said. (12)