Seribu island teachers urged prompt delivery of rations

Seribu island teachers urged prompt delivery of rations

JAKARTA (JP): Teachers in the Seribu Islands expressed their
long repressed frustrations to city councilors yesterday, saying
the rice ration was difficult to fetch from Muara Angke, North
Jakarta because of constraints on transportation.

"We must hire boats at Rp 300,000 (US$140.7) to bring the
ration. For ill-paid people like us, it is almost financially
impossible," Rohani told the city councilors from the welfare
commission during their tour of the islands.

Rohani is the principal of the SD Negeri 1 state-owned
elementary school of the Panggang Island neighborhood. He pleaded
with the city councilors to provide ferries to carry the ration
at affordable price.

He also asked the councilors to do them a favor and get their
salaries as scheduled.

Ismail, who taught at the Tidung Island high school, expressed
the same concern.

He asked that their salary and rice ration be delivered on the
same day and called the authority to give premiums to high school
teachers in very remote areas.

"If elementary teachers in remote areas can receive Rp 86,000
($40.3) per month, the same policy is expected to apply for high
school teachers," Ismail was quoted by Antara as saying.

The so-called "honorary teachers", on the other hand, grumbled
that their promotion into permanent teachers was a long and
difficult process.

"It's was our dream to become teachers. What we do in this
remote place comes purely from our dedication," said Kris, a
honorary teacher.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Principal of the SMA 69 state-owned high
school, Iwa Kartika, deplored the current situation in which the
school lacked teachers. He also said that there was no
specialization for any of the instructors.

"A mathematics teacher may also teach economics," Iwa said.

Excited by the flurry of concerns voiced by their teachers,
some SMA 69 high-school girls voiced their concerns about the
poor conditions of the boarding house in which they lived.

"There is no gate so the cattle belonging to area residents
often sneak out into our bedrooms," said Dewi Utama, one of the
high-school girls.

Soegijo, chairman of the commission, promised to devise some
solutions with the executives.

Housebreaking

City councilors were also informed that the Seribu Island
residents were still averse to using water closets despite the
existence of these facilities on the island, preferring to
defecate in the sea instead.

"It's very difficult to make them stop the habit. The result
is many residents contract diarrhea and dysentery," said Chief of
the Panggang Island Subdistrict Mahbud S.

The district, consisting of 13 islands with 3,588 population,
is categorized as being among the poorer areas.

Kelapa Island Subdistrict Chief Abdul Manaf, claiming most of
5,514 people living on the island were also avert using toilets,
said, "A special approach is needed to turn them away from the
habit. It takes a long time,"

He added a great number of the residents suffered from
diarrhea and intestinal worms

According to Sonny LT, chief of the Health Office of the North
Jakarta mayoralty, the main diseases permeate the Seribu Islands
are upper respiratory tract infection (2,221 people), diarrhea
(761), skin diseases (1,114), dysentery (204).

The high inclination of the diseases, he said, has resulted
from their dependency on using rain for water and their habit of
defecating in the sea. (jsk)