5,000 students to take final exams in tents
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Medan
Many Aceh school buildings that were destroyed by recent natural disasters have still not been rebuilt, meaning some 5,000 students will have to sit their national final exams under makeshift tents.
Spokesman for the provincial education agency Bustaman Aly said on Saturday that the affected students attended junior and senior high schools in the regencies of Aceh Besar, Aceh Jaya, Simeulue and West Aceh.
"On Simeulue island alone, there are 2,000 students who will have to take the exams in tents as their school buildings were completely shattered by the huge earthquake last March," said Bustaman, quoted by Antara.
An earthquake and tsunami devastated Aceh and Nias island in North Sumatra on Dec. 26 last year, claiming over 129,000 lives. A major quake doubled the misery for people in Nias and some parts of Aceh on March 28, with over 800 killed.
The tsunami destroyed 1,083 school buildings in Aceh, according to the education agency data.
A fresh quake jolted Aceh on Sunday, causing hundreds of people in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh to flee their houses in panic. The local meteorology and geophysics agency measured the tremor at 5.1 on the Richter scale.
The agency has recorded an average of 20 aftershocks per day in the province since the December catastrophe, but most were not noticeable. Such quakes, however, would not cause killer waves, the agency said.
Third-year students from junior and senior high schools nationwide will sit for their final exams between May 30 and June 1. A second examination will be held in October for those who do not pass in May.
Bustaman said there would be 130,823 students sitting final exams in Aceh.
The provincial administration has instructed all schools not to collect money for whatever reason from students.
The central government has decided to cover education costs of students, who are bearing the brunt of the disaster.
"The government will even pay the honorarium for teachers monitoring the exams. There should be no levy imposed on students," Bustaman said.
In Medan, North Sumatra, the Greek government through the NGO Solidarity handed over the second part of humanitarian aid package to the Indonesian Red Cross for people affected by the tsunami in Aceh and Nias.
The assistance totals nine million euro (US$10.8 million), one million euro of which is allocated for reconstruction.
Ignatios Giapitzioglou from Solidarity said the reconstruction fund was specially intended to rebuild houses, schools and hospitals.