Lack of funds slows school refurb
Lack of funds slows school refurb
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post/Tangerang
Nearly 1,250 of 1,784 state schools in Tangerang regency are in
need of renovation, but the regency administration has only
allocated enough money, about Rp 60 billion (US$6.45 million), to
renovate 75 of the schools.
Tangerang regency education agency head Mas Iman Kusnandar
said over the weekend the agency's priority was to renovate most
of the 1,056 elementary schools in the regency.
"Most of the elementary schools were built in 1974 and they
have never been renovated," he said.
"With such a limited budget allocation, we will only finish
renovating all of the buildings in 10 years. By then, some of the
schools will have collapsed before we had the chance to renovate
them."
Two schools in the villages of Cinangka and Tapos in Tigaraksa
district collapsed recently. Both schools had been on the regency
administration's list of schools to be renovated in 2005.
In an effort to overcome the financial constraints, Regent
Ismet Iskandar hopes to cooperate with the private sector in
repairing the schools.
He said he would invite businesspeople to loan money for
school renovation projects. The administration would then repay
the low-interest loans on an installment scheme.
In addition to the disrepair of many of the regency's schools,
Tangerang will also face a teacher shortage over the next five
years as thousands of teachers reach retirement age.
"Some 3,600 teachers ... will retire in the next five years as
they turn 50 years old," Kusnandar said, adding that the central
government had yet to do anything about recruiting new teachers.
There are about 17,000 total teachers in the regency, some
8,000 of them contract teachers.
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post/Tangerang
Nearly 1,250 of 1,784 state schools in Tangerang regency are in
need of renovation, but the regency administration has only
allocated enough money, about Rp 60 billion (US$6.45 million), to
renovate 75 of the schools.
Tangerang regency education agency head Mas Iman Kusnandar
said over the weekend the agency's priority was to renovate most
of the 1,056 elementary schools in the regency.
"Most of the elementary schools were built in 1974 and they
have never been renovated," he said.
"With such a limited budget allocation, we will only finish
renovating all of the buildings in 10 years. By then, some of the
schools will have collapsed before we had the chance to renovate
them."
Two schools in the villages of Cinangka and Tapos in Tigaraksa
district collapsed recently. Both schools had been on the regency
administration's list of schools to be renovated in 2005.
In an effort to overcome the financial constraints, Regent
Ismet Iskandar hopes to cooperate with the private sector in
repairing the schools.
He said he would invite businesspeople to loan money for
school renovation projects. The administration would then repay
the low-interest loans on an installment scheme.
In addition to the disrepair of many of the regency's schools,
Tangerang will also face a teacher shortage over the next five
years as thousands of teachers reach retirement age.
"Some 3,600 teachers ... will retire in the next five years as
they turn 50 years old," Kusnandar said, adding that the central
government had yet to do anything about recruiting new teachers.
There are about 17,000 total teachers in the regency, some
8,000 of them contract teachers.