Most school buildings damaged

BOGOR: About 76 percent of Bogor's elementary schools are seriously dilapidated but the city does not have enough money to repair them, an education official said on Wednesday.

"Of the total 1,625 elementary schools in Bogor, 76 percent are seriously run down, 2 percent are completely run down and the rest have minor problems," said Didi Suwardi, the education agency chief.

He said that the Bogor administration has only Rp 36 billion (US$3.6 million) to renovate all elementary schools, junior and senior high schools.

According to Didi, the situation is the result of the age of buildings and the poor quality of materials used in their construction.

"Many of them were built in 1974," he said, adding that maintenance for each of the elementary schools cost some Rp 500,000 per month.

To solve the problem, Didi suggested that each of the schools generate their own funding to help finance renovations.--JP