Students, teachers to learn how to react during disaster
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Ministry of National Education plans to introduce a natural disaster anticipation program to schools located in disaster- prone areas following the tsunamis that devastated Aceh and Nias Island in December.
Director General of Primary and Secondary Education Indra Djati Sidi said on Monday that aside from rebuilding the areas, the government would train local people to prepare for a natural disaster and provide a trauma center in the aftermath of a disaster.
"The post-tsunami conditions leave us with a question of how to draft a school curriculum to help students anticipate an earthquake, flood, or other disasters as we realize that Indonesia is geographically vulnerable to disaster," he said at a teaching seminar on Aceh at the University of Indonesia's School of Psychology in Depok, West Java.
He said the program was part of the master plan now being prepared by the National Development Planning Board.
Indra said his office had started training teachers and students in certain areas after a major earthquake hit Bengkulu in 2002.
"Now, we are going to implement it nationwide. Teachers and students will be trained, for example, about how they can detect a disaster and how they should react to save their lives," he said.
He said the trainees would undergo a drill and be made familiar with a warning bell or siren.
"Upon hearing such sirens, they are expected to leave all their belongings and run for their lives. We will share the knowledge to all students in all areas prone to tsunami, earthquake and flood without adding to their academic burden," he said.
The people on Simeulue Island had taught the general public a lesson about how to survive the tsunami because they ran to higher ground when they noticed the sea sucking out of the bays on the island. Most people in other areas died because they came closer to the beach to see the view or catch the fish left behind by the receding tide.
Tsunami survivors said that sea water levels receded for about 15 to 20 minutes before the waves.
According to ministry data, about 86,000 students, 1,800 teachers, and 231 local education agency workers were dead or missing in the disaster while about 2,000 school buildings were leveled to the ground.
Indra said over 330,000 Acehnese students were directly affected by tsunami.
"We are now considering whether they should take the national exam or not. Probably, they should to take school-based or other localized tests. We will take time to consult with school before we decide," he said.
The government has allocated about Rp 533 billion (US$57.9 million) to education in Aceh during the six-month period of emergency relief, plus another Rp 8.5 billion? for the next five years to rebuild education infrastructure.