School roof collapse no surprise to residents

School roof collapse no surprise to residents

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post/Tangerang

Maksum had seen it coming days before the roof of the 25-year-old
state elementary school in Tapos village, one kilometer north of
the Tangerang regency offices in Tigaraksa, collapsed in the
small hours of Tuesday morning.

"I was awoken by a loud noise, and I knew instantly that it
was the roof collapsing ... the roof had been making creaking
loudly for the past three days," the 43-year-old, who lives
nearby, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Like other parents in the neighborhood, the sorry state of the
school had led to Maksum deciding to send his six-year-old
daughter to school in the neighboring village of Sodong, even
though this meant he had to spend more on ojek (motorcycle
taxis).

Since the roof collapse, the school management has arranged
for the 127 students in grades four to six to attend afternoon
classes in the three classrooms that are still safe for use.

Abdullah, one of the school's teachers, said that the school
had asked the administration to effect repairs on four
occasions since 2000. The administration had finally said yes
this year, but had yet to start the work.

"We often had to send students home early for fear that the
building would collapse during bad weather. None of us would dare
to stay in the school during hail, for example," he said.

Regent Ismet Iskandar said he had ordered education agency
director Mas Iman Kusnandar and spatial use agency director
Bunyamin Davnie to have the school repaired.

"We can't wait for the 2005 budget to finance the work. The
students have to continue their studies as usual," he said.

Mas Iman Kusnandar, who was monitoring the repair work at the
school on Wednesday, revealed that the administration could only
renovate 50 out of over 700 dilapidated schools each year due to
a lack of money.