Jakarta Governor Apologises for Collapsed Primary School Left Derelict for Two Years
Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung has apologised after only just learning that SDN Kebayoran Lama Selatan 09 Pagi in South Jakarta collapsed two years ago, in 2024.
“When friends in the media asked me yesterday about the state primary school that collapsed in Kebayoran Lama, frankly that was the first time I had heard of it. I am someone who answers things as they are. Please forgive me for not knowing at the time,” Pramono said at Jakarta City Hall on Wednesday.
After hearing the news, Pramono said he immediately raised the matter in a meeting with his officials.
The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government promptly made a visit to assess the school’s actual condition.
Pramono also requested that the school be rebuilt without delay for the comfort of teaching and learning activities there.
“If there are indeed no funds from the regional budget (APBD), then we will open up possibilities, whether from emergency funds (KLB), corporate social responsibility (CSR), or from anywhere else. What matters is that it must be built soon,” he said.
According to him, matters like this, particularly in the education sector, are problems that must be resolved immediately.
He added that Deputy Governor Rano Karno would also gather the entire Jakarta Education Office to discuss schools in the capital that need assistance.
“There is no need to cover anything up. I say no. Everything must be open and transparent. That is the character of the Jakarta Government when it comes to solving the various problems that exist,” Pramono said.
Beyond SDN Kebayoran Lama Selatan 09 Pagi in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, Pramono said the Jakarta Government would also attend to 22 other schools in need of repairs.
“Not only the one that went viral yesterday, but in other places too, all 22 of them, we will resolve soon,” Pramono said.
Part of the SDN Kebayoran Lama 09 Pagi building has been collapsed since 2024. As a result, pupils’ teaching and learning has not been optimal. Parents have worried that the building could collapse at any moment and endanger their children.
Around 200 pupils have been forced to share facilities at the adjacent SDN Kebayoran Lama Selatan 11. Because of this arrangement, the pupils have to attend school in the afternoon.
“Because they are borrowing space, our school only runs in the afternoon, so the children are perhaps not very comfortable having to share. The children do not have the freedom they need,” said Evi Afrida, one of the parents.
Beyond the irregular school hours, the afternoon start means the children have lost time for religious education or Quranic study in the evening.
“Because they now start in the afternoon, children who used to attend Quranic lessons rarely do so anymore. It has been two years since they stopped. The lessons used to be in the evening, usually after the afternoon prayer. Here, we finish school at 5pm, from 1pm to 5pm. So the children are uncomfortable doing their religious activities in the evening, and we are not comfortable learning either. Starting at midday means they return home late,” she complained.