Keeping light of learning amid rot, ruin

Keeping light of learning amid rot, ruin

The wall surrounding the school grounds appeared to be sturdy
two weeks ago, when a group of local councillors visited state
elementary school SDN I Kemasan of Polokarto subdistrict in
Sukoharjo, Central Java.

The same could not be said of the school itself, which has a
student body of 197 and is located a mere 10 kilometers from the
provincial government offices.

The ceiling of at least one classroom has almost collapsed due
to a termite infestation and four bamboo poles prop it up
temporarily, while the class has moved to a storage room to study
among gamelan instruments.

Eight rooms in the school show alarming states of disrepair,
including the principal's office and the teachers' lounge.

"I am really terrified to study in our classroom," said
Muniroh, a fourth grader at the school, adding that she could
hear the building creaking throughout class.

"We've already made several requests to the central government
for funds to renovate the school. Their latest response was that
all funds were being channeled to deal with impacts of the
tsunami in Aceh," said principal Sutarno.

The school was constructed in 1973, with additional buildings
erected in 1985. During this period, no formal assessments were
made on the school's condition, and minor repairs were made by
local contractors upon support from the students' parents.

Despite the school's condition, its students take the Scouts
championship almost every year. In the arts, they rank among the
top in Central Java, with its gamelan troupe placing first in
2003.

Sukoharjo vice regent Muhammad Toha expressed concern about
the school to the Post, but said renovations could only be
planned for the coming year. "We'll take an assessment in 2006,"
he said.

-- Text and photos by Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post