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)