Students make do with village hall for classroom

Muhammad Uzair, The Jakarta Post/Palembang

Pupils of an elementary school in Banyuasin regency here attend classes in the village hall, after strong winds leveled their school to the ground last month.

"Had the school collapsed during school hours, many would have been injured," said Usman, an official of the Sebubus subdistrict office, where the school -- Pangkalanbalai State Elementary School No.1 -- is located.

According to Usman, only classroom furniture and some files could be salvaged from the wreckage.

Despite reports filed in the wake of the incident more than a month ago, there has been no response from the Banyuasin National Education Office.

Even before the school collapsed, the local subdistrict office and the school administration had submitted several requests for the repair or renovation of the building.

"We fixed the school ourselves several times, including replacing planks. No government official has paid attention to the plight of the school," he said.

The school was to be rebuilt by the South Sumatra administration in 2002, but only the foundation was laid, due to a lack of funds.

Local residents decided the village hall would be suitable for school activities.

"We have partitioned the hall so that the spaces appear like classrooms and have brought in chairs, desks and blackboards from the school," said Sebubus village head Mustofa AG.

"There are about 150 elementary schools in need of restoration in Banyuasin," said Banyuasin Regent H. Amiruddin Inoed recently.

Only 20 to 30 schools can be renovated yearly due to the regency's limited funds. "We will make it a priority to rebuild the school in Sebubus," said Amiruddin.

The school is also facing a shortage of teachers.

There are only three teachers at the school: Ahlan, who is also the principal, Elly, a permanent teacher and Sumiyati, a temporary teacher. They take turns teaching first grade through to sixth grade students.

"The teachers have difficulties if one of them is absent. We are very concerned about the lack of teachers and also the reconstruction of the school," said Usman.

The teachers' welfare has also been affected by the situation. "This probably reduces the teachers' performance and we hope the government will look into the problem seriously," said Usman.

The situation faced by the elementary school is typical of conditions at many elementary schools nationwide, especially in poor and remote areas.