Students, teachers to learn how to react during disaster
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.