The collapse of a school building

The collapse of a school building

A 35-year-old elementary school building in Kwitang, Central
Jakarta partially collapsed last week, despite renovation work in
1995.

No fatalities were reported as the tragedy took place at
night. The school principal had actually seen signs of impending
ruin as almost all the brick walls were cracked and all the
wooden parts decayed.

The school principal reported the condition of the building to
the Jakarta Education Office last year and the office had planned
to renovate the building this year.

We believe that there are many such elementary school
buildings which are in a very poor condition. And the Jakarta
Education Office has only a little money to fund the renovation
projects every year. To expect the city administration to pour
extra money into the renovation project is unrealistic. This
means that more tragedies are likely to occur in the future, and
fatalities are possible.

Therefore, an inventory of elementary school buildings in the
city is a must.

On the other hand, school renovation projects must be tightly
controlled by both the city administration officials and the
people. It is no secret that corruption and collusion have been
rampant in such projects, which affects the quality of the
buildings.

-- Warta Kota, Jakarta