'School renovated, but still damaged'

'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