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