180 schools to be repaired

180 schools to be repaired

TANGERANG: The local administration plans to repair 180
elementary schools this year with the help of developers from the
Indonesian Construction Business Association.

"If the administration relied solely on its annual budget, the
renovation work would only begin in 2006 and the schools cannot
wait that long," Tangerang Mayor Wahidin Halim said on Tuesday.

He said the work, which will begin in June, will cost between
Rp 150 billion (US$17.65 million) and Rp 200 billion.

The administration has allocated more than Rp 200 billion, or
43 percent of its 2004 budget, for education. Most of that money
will go toward repairing 350 school buildings.

The roofs of at least two schools in Tangerang have collapsed
in recent months due to age and neglect. -- JP