A picture of education in fishing communities

By Mikael Onny Setiawan

KENYAMUKAN, East Kalimantan (JP): Maskur, a first-grade student at Kenyamukan elementary school, stands barefoot in front of the class, clutching a Bahasa Indonesia text book.

"Sa-ya, saya ... sis-wa, siswa ..." he reads out loud. In the same classroom, Nuripa -- a third-grader -- together with friends in the same grade copies the contents of a science book, sentence by sentence, into her notebook.

The students are divided in two classes. One row contains students of grade one and grade three. The other is for students of grade two and grade four. With a lot of students in every row, they have to use the space effectively, especially when writing.

The school lies in the heart of the Kenyamukan fishing village, which faces the Makassar Strait in Sangata, East Kalimantan.

The East Kalimantan province is rich in natural resources. Timber, coal, gas and gold are exploited by local and international companies. Most of the products are for export.

The school is accessible by motorcycle from Sangata. It is about a one-hour ride through muddy roads in swampy areas that locals say are infested by crocodiles. It can also be reached by ketinting (motorboat), which takes about 40 minutes.

"I consider the presence of the school and the teachers here a blessing. We parents like to see the kids studying enthusiastically," said Musa, an elderly resident who lives by Kenyamukan River.

Musa is a "pioneer", as he helped turn the coast into a residential area. Some residents have offered their land to open another school.

Locals say that with a new school in a better area, it is expected more that children from the villages of Rawa Gabus, Kenyamukan and Teluk Lombok will have a better opportunity to study.

They are waiting for the government and companies in the area to honor their promises of support.

"The biggest problem facing people here is the absence of paved roads to the nearest towns and the lack of drinking water," Musa said. "We need support from the government and other donors to build a better elementary school in this area."

The existing school was built early last year. It is affiliated to SDN (state elementary school) 011 Sangata which takes care of the administrative work.

It has two classrooms of 4 meters by 5 meters in size. The walls consist of 20 wooden boards. The space between the boards functions as both the ventilation and windows. The are no doors in the school, only empty doorframes. The roof is made up of corroded iron sheets that leak when it rains.

In the rainy season, water seeps into the classroom and students feet are soaked while the study.

"Our facility is very inadequate for the teaching-learning process," said Mahdin, who has been teaching for nine years, both here and elsewhere.

Mahdin, like other teachers, has to teach two different subjects for students of different classes. He also teaches Islamic subjects and Arabic writing in the afternoon.

In his spare time, on Sundays, he walks for about two hours to the nearest market to sell fish to make ends meet.

Amir Hamzah, the head of the education and cultural affairs office in East Kutai regency acknowledged the lack of teachers in the area. Aside from buildings, schools in the area are in dire need of text books, stationery and sports equipment.

This year alone, the regency needs at least another 500 teachers. "We need teachers who are willing to be assigned to remote areas, like those on the eastern coasts."

Kenyamukan elementary school has 37 students. Twenty-one students are in first grade, ten in second, five in third and one in the fourth grade. Most of the students live in Kenyamukan delta.

The others come from Sungai Bendera, another fishing and farm village on the coastal, some 18 kilometers north of Kenyamukan. They live in a boarding house in Rawa Gabus, some five kilometers upstream of Kenyamukan River.

"Some students from Rawa Gabus wake up early in the morning and run or walk barefooted for about five kilometers to school," said Weli, a youth from Rawa Gabus.

Weli is a graduate of the Technical High School in Bontang. He has been teaching in the school since last May. He says his students have never complained about the harsh conditions.

Once a week, parents pick up their children in Sungai Bendera and take them back home to Rawa Gabus, some 30 minutes journey by boat.

Ideals

"I want to become a Navy officer," said Maskur, when asked what he wanted to do in the future.

Other students said they wanted to be farmers or fishermen when they grew up. Only one student, Nuripa -- a third grade student -- said she wanted to become a teacher.

Due to the absence of electricity, students in Rawa Gabus learn by petromax, (kerosene pump lamps) at night. In delta Kenyamukan, they enjoy a better amenity: studying under a ten- watt neon light which is on from dusk to midnight. The limited electricity is distributed to every house from a diesel generator owned by Miming, the former head of the community.

In their spare time, the students play as kids all over the world do. Some are good swimmers. Others go fishing with their parents and relatives.

"We are happy to see children reading books and knowledgeable about mathematics. I hope they will live better lives in the future," said Rinto, the neighborhood chief.