Close of school brings misery to students

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar

Muhammad Nur, an elementary school teacher, scolds his students several times as they are not concentrating on the lesson. Nur is irritated as the students often shift their gaze out of the classroom to the paddy fields outside. The class is being given in an open part of a house in Pattotongan subdistrict, Maros regency, South Sulawesi province.

The students have studied in the open classroom for the past week, after their school was barricaded by Muhammad Daeng Sila, a school caretaker, who claimed that the school was built on his family's land. Sila closed the building in protest against the Maros government which has not paid his salary although he signed a contract to be employed as the school caretaker in October last year.

The principal of the 16 Pattotongan State Elementary School, Muhammad Yunus, said on Saturday that initially, Yunus only expressed concern that he had not been paid since October last year. But, he finally lost his cool last week and closed the school, preventing the teachers and students from entering the building. Now the area around the school is being used to dry unhusked rice.

"We cannot do anything except look for an alternative classroom. We are lucky as one of residents here, Muchtar, was willing to spare part of his house to be used as a classroom," said Yunus. Despite the closure, Yunus said that classes had to continue because next month the sixth graders would have an examination.

The makeshift classroom is actually far from ideal as the open room is a kind of storeroom, in which several gunny sacks packed with unhusked rice are piled up on the floor in the corner.

There are paddy fields as far as the eyes can see.

The landlord uses part of his house to spread unhusked rice on large mats, which creates a lot of dust. Some students complained that they suffered from itchiness.

The 16 Pattotongan State Elementary School has six classrooms, 160 students and five teachers, including a principal. In the new arrangement there two large storerooms in the house and the classes are held in them interchangeably.

"The location and the situation are below standard, but we have no other alternative," said Yunus.

The school building, which has been sealed, was built by the government in 1961.

Yunus said that he had reported the problem to the Maros government. "However, to date (Saturday), there is no sign that the government will attempt to resolve the problem," he said.

He hopes that the government will build a new school building in another location so that the students can continue their classes in a decent manner.