Many state schools require renovation

JAKARTA (JP): City Council members are pressuring the municipal administration to make renovation or reconstruction of a number of dilapidated city-owned school buildings top priority.

Atje Muljadi, chairman of the City Council's Commission D for development affairs, told reporters yesterday that the council will help speed up the renovation by processing documents for phasing out the city property.

Under standard procedures, phasing out property requires permits, including a license to renovate, or rebuild, from the City Council.

Research conducted recently by the City Education and Culture Office showed that a total of 33 junior high schools and 119 senior high schools in Jakarta need renovating or demolition and reconstruction.

Muhir Subagia, head of the North Jakarta education office, said that out of the 293 elementary school buildings in the mayoralty 60 have to be renovated.

"We will grant the permit for the phasing out, which will be followed by the rebuilding of the facilities as soon as the proposal for that is endorsed," Atje said after visiting a dilapidated junior high school building in Rorotan subdistrict, North Jakarta, and an elementary school building in Krukut, West Jakarta.

The headmaster of the junior high school, Surban Batubara, said that most floors in the building have buckled and that three classrooms can no longer be used because the roof is ready to collapse.

"We have asked for funds from the city administration to renovate the building but there is no response," Batubara said, adding that the building was erected in 1979. The school has 557 students in 12 classes.

Atje said that he can understand the delay in repair or renovation because of the limited availability of funds, but he urged the municipal administration to give priority to his school in the next fiscal year.

"The renovation of this building is projected to cost Rp 1.3 billion," Atje said.

In Krukut, the third floor of the three-story elementary school is in such bad condition that it can no longer be used. The students are forced to crowd into the classrooms on the second and first floors.

Jaendar Sagala, the head of the West Jakarta building development and renovation office, said the school will be renovated at a cost of Rp 232 million next year.

Atje said that although there is a plan to eventually move the school to another area, it is still important to renovate the building.

Data at the Central Bureau of Statistics show that in the 1992-1993 fiscal year there were a total of 4,047 elementary schools, 1,141 junior high schools and 542 senior high schools in operation throughout Jakarta. (yns)