Spirit remain high among Acehnese students

Spirit remain high among Acehnese students

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The ongoing war between government forces and the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM) means a hard time for students in the province,
which has seen about 500 school buildings razed in arson attacks.

However, the crisis has not lessened the Acehnese student's
desire to continue their studies.

Learning activities in the state elementary school SDN 1 Tanoh
Abee in Seulimun, Aceh Besar, and state senior high school SMUN 2
Ganda Pura Bireuen are examples of how enthusiasm has remained
with the students.

Students of SD 1 Tanoh Abee, whose school was burned down soon
after the military operation to crush GAM rebels began on May 19,
have been studying inside a building with plastic walls and a
corrugated iron roof. The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) helped build
the temporary school.

"At noon, it is very hot, but I am happy as I am able to
continue my studies," Rahmah, one of the students, said.

Another student, Seulimun, agreed. "Although it is just an
emergency school, it doesn't matter as long as we can study," she
said.

Teachers at the school expressed their delight at resuming
their jobs.

"Students received their academic reports and certificates
very late. But it doesn't matter as the enrollment period for
junior high school and senior high school has been extended to
June 31," a teacher said.

The teacher, who requested anonymity, said teachers had to
rewrite their students' academic reports, which were destroyed
during the arson attack. He was worried that his students would
be unable to enter higher schools.

In SMUN 2 Ganda Pura, local people joined hands to rebuild the
school, instead of relying on the government.

"Local people helped rebuild the school by providing sand,
cement and coconut trees to provide students with a better place
to study," a teacher said.

Before the school was rebuilt, the students had to study under
the trees to escape the heat. Sessions were often affected by
rain.

SMUN 2 building was burned down in 2002, but the Aceh
administration, which allocated Rp 700 billion for education that
year, never renovated the school.

At present, there are about 40,000 Acehnese students who have
stopped studying or have to study under emergency conditions
since the military operation began.

The government has started rebuilding some of the destroyed
schools but their number remains few as the war still continues.
PMI also provided emergency tents for students.

Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh, who had just returned from the
national meeting of governors, said on Friday fellow governors
from other provinces in Indonesia had agreed to help the
provincial administration rebuild the schools.

"One governor will provide funds to reconstruct one destroyed
school," he said, adding that once the renovation of the school
was completed, the school would be named after the donor
province.

Puteh said that about 1,000 school buildings had been set on
fire in the past five years in the conflict-plagued province,
with 500 being destroyed since the war began alone.