'School renovated, but still damaged'

Many schools in Greater Jakarta are in poor condition, some in such disrepair that they are at the point of collapse. It is no secret that many school buildings are constructed using low- quality materials, despite the huge sums of money the city administration spends to pay for the buildings. The Jakarta Post discussed this important matter with several residents.

Majid, not his real name, 25, is a member of the Community Committee Board at an elementary school in Depok, West Java. He works for a private company in South Jakarta.

I am a member of the committee board at the elementary school in my village. The board was established partly to monitor the management of the school, including school renovations.

The school collapsed this year and the city administration allocated more than Rp 230 million to renovate it.

With that much money, the contractor could have built at least a two-story elementary school. But in reality the school is still in poor condition.

The contractor did not renovate the entire building, only parts of it. He fixed parts of the building using material that was not of good quality. In terms of quality and quantity, the contractor totally reduced the standard that had been agreed upon in the renovation plan.

When the renovation was finished, there were no proper chairs and desks for the students. So one of the pupils' parents donated money to buy the furniture.

The entire budget was not spent for the renovation work, but some of it was distributed to a certain political party and to city administration officials. Worse, the mayor demanded the contractor build him a house.

Iyon, 30, is a construction worker who lives in Cengkareng, West Jakarta:

I have been in construction for almost 10 years now. I used to be a contractor, albeit just a small one.

I think there are many irregularities in construction projects. Everybody knows this. I used to do the same thing myself. Basically, who will refuse easy money, especially in times of economic hardship?

I once got a project worth more than Rp 150 million (from the city administration). Honestly speaking, I only spent about Rp 70 million of the total budget. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? But that's the way construction jobs work. Of course, I didn't get to keep all the money because I had to bribe some people, including city administration officials. They are all corrupt officials.

To make more money from projects, I used to get the cheapest materials possible that still looked good at a glance.

When I did a school renovation project I did the same thing. But then I was just a worker. The contractor conspired with local officials. He purchased poor quality materials for the building foundation.

Many school buildings have collapsed because they don't have a strong foundation. The contractors used poor quality materials and at the same time marked up the budget.

Working on construction projects is a lucrative business.

But it also depends on the mentality of city officials. If they are honest and monitor the budget, contractors would work more honestly. At least they would steal far less money for fear of the legal consequences.

Atik, 59, is an elementary school teacher in Halim, East Jakarta. She lives in Bekasi with her husband and three children:

I think the poor condition of school buildings is sometimes caused by the ignorance of school officials. They don't regularly check the buildings.

But I also wonder about how the education budget is spent. It should be used properly to keep up the school buildings.

Perhaps corrupt officials and contractors were dishonest in carrying out the school renovation projects, spending far less money on the work than was indicated in the budget.

They don't totally renovate the buildings, only fixing parts of the building. So it is no use because the buildings will soon be in disrepair again.

-- Leo Wahyudi S