Pupils study in dilapidated school

Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post/Surakarta

Noticing the school fence had been painted and the schoolyard's quad was in good condition, several councillors nearly decided not to continue with their field trip to Kemasan elementary school in Polokarto district.

"Had they been convinced by the school's exterior, they would have certainly turned back. It was fortunate that they entered several classrooms and saw the true condition of our school," said school principal Sutarno.

The principal said the appearance of the school's exterior did not reflect the true condition of the school, where the roof nearly collapse in one schoolroom because the crossbeam had been eaten away by termites.

Instead, four bamboo poles were propping up the roof, while learning activities had been moved to the karawitan traditional music classroom, which also functioned as a storeroom for gamelan instruments.

The music room is in slightly better condition than the first classroom despite huge cracks in the walls. However, teachers feel the room is still usable. "Its roof is still relatively secure, and the possibility of it giving way is remote," said Sutarno. Most of the eight rooms in the school are in a dilapidated state, including classrooms, the teachers' room and the principal's office.

Many doors and windows are crumbling. "You can poke a hole in them with your finger," said one teacher.

"I feel really scared when in our classroom," said Muniroh, 11, a student at the school, who said she often heard creaking noises in the ceiling during class.

Despite it all, Sutarno hopes the government will not rebuild the school all at once so as not to disrupt school activities, especially when the 197 pupils depend on the school for an education. The nearest school is at least three kilometers away.

"We have proposed the central government release funds for repairs in several disbursements. The latest reply was that funds had been used to deal with the impact of the tsunami in Aceh," said Sutarno.

Despite the impression of being located in a remote area, the school is only about 10 kilometers from the regental administrative center of Sukoharjo. The nearest access to the school is via a bamboo bridge which can only be traversed by foot or by motorcycle. One has to take a circular route of about 10 kilometers to reach it by car.

The original part of the school was built in 1973, while other sections were added in 1985. Sutarno said the government had done nothing to fix the school thus far due to a lack of funds.

Sutarno feels fortunate to be the principal of a school in a community-minded society. Most of the construction costs for supporting facilities, such as the fence and yard, were covered by the parents of students. "That's outside the monthly school fees of Rp 5,000," said Sutarno.

Only part of the recently disbursed school operational funds of Rp 23,382,500, has been used, mainly to plaster cracked walls and replace broken roof tiles.

The school has a number of achievements that it can boast about, such as how it comes first almost every year in the scouts jamboree. Its ensemble has also ranked among the top three since 1999 in the provincial karawitan traditional music competition.

The school is just one of the many schools in the country to suffer disrepair. Blaming a lack of funds, the government has neglected many dilapidated schools, endangering students. Although there have been no reports of fatalities due to school buildings collapsing, there is public concern that if the neglect continues, fatalities are just a matter of time.