Thousands of school buildings in disrepair
<p>Thousands of school buildings in disrepair</p><p> JAKARTA (JP): More than 100,000 elementary school buildings
across the country are in a state of serious disrepair as a
result of old age and poor maintenance, a legislator reported on
Saturday.</p><p>Engkoswara, the deputy chairman of House of Representatives
Commission VII for education, confirmed that 60 percent of
170,000 elementary school buildings surveyed across the country
were in poor condition.</p><p>"We found in our recent visits to several provinces such as
Central, West and East Java, Lampung and West Kalimantan...that
some buildings had already collapsed and been abandoned,"
Engkoswara told The Jakarta Post.</p><p>Aside from 102,000 damaged buildings, the commission also
found that 20,000 elementary school buildings had been closed
down or put to other uses due to a lack of pupils.</p><p>"The problems arose mainly because of poor planning, poor
management and physical factors such as land condition. Some of
these schools were constructed in 1974 and have not been
renovated since.</p><p>"Some of the newer buildings are now in a run down state due
to poor maintenance...many members of staff at the schools don't
realize how important it is to care for the buildings. They
think, 'it's the government's money, anyway.' Their mentality is
all wrong."</p><p>He said that pupils of the affected schools had either been
transferred to nearby schools or forced to share classrooms in
safer parts of the condemned buildings in rotation with other
classes.</p><p>"Teachers and students were afraid that the buildings could
collapse...many students (whose schools were in a state of
disrepair) did not attend school and left without a proper
education."</p><p>Engkoswara cited several factors which had contributed to the
declining number of pupils, including the success of family
planning programs and the high drop out rate resulting from the
economic crisis.</p><p>On Friday, a Ministry of Public Works official was quoted by
Media Indonesia daily as saying that only 25 percent of the
country's 170,000 elementary school buildings were in good
condition. The official, Gembong Priyanto, added that around 50
percent of the buildings were in a state of serious disrepair.</p><p>Engkoswara also said that a lack of coordination between the
ministries of education and public works had contributed to the
poor condition of the country's school buildings. "Decisions to
construct school buildings were often taken without adequate
consultation resulting in poor planning and the use of unsuitable
sites."</p><p>As an example, he cited Sukasari in Bandung, where there are
five elementary schools each with a small number of pupils.</p><p>"Such a waste. The authorities could have made better use of
the land by building a playground or a sports complex," he said.</p><p>The government recently announced plans to renovate 3,000
elementary school buildings in 200 districts around the country.
Sixty percent of the schools will be in Java.</p><p>Gembong said that Rp 434 billion of the social safety net
funds allocated to fund education projects would be used to
finance the renovations. (edt)</p>
across the country are in a state of serious disrepair as a
result of old age and poor maintenance, a legislator reported on
Saturday.</p><p>Engkoswara, the deputy chairman of House of Representatives
Commission VII for education, confirmed that 60 percent of
170,000 elementary school buildings surveyed across the country
were in poor condition.</p><p>"We found in our recent visits to several provinces such as
Central, West and East Java, Lampung and West Kalimantan...that
some buildings had already collapsed and been abandoned,"
Engkoswara told The Jakarta Post.</p><p>Aside from 102,000 damaged buildings, the commission also
found that 20,000 elementary school buildings had been closed
down or put to other uses due to a lack of pupils.</p><p>"The problems arose mainly because of poor planning, poor
management and physical factors such as land condition. Some of
these schools were constructed in 1974 and have not been
renovated since.</p><p>"Some of the newer buildings are now in a run down state due
to poor maintenance...many members of staff at the schools don't
realize how important it is to care for the buildings. They
think, 'it's the government's money, anyway.' Their mentality is
all wrong."</p><p>He said that pupils of the affected schools had either been
transferred to nearby schools or forced to share classrooms in
safer parts of the condemned buildings in rotation with other
classes.</p><p>"Teachers and students were afraid that the buildings could
collapse...many students (whose schools were in a state of
disrepair) did not attend school and left without a proper
education."</p><p>Engkoswara cited several factors which had contributed to the
declining number of pupils, including the success of family
planning programs and the high drop out rate resulting from the
economic crisis.</p><p>On Friday, a Ministry of Public Works official was quoted by
Media Indonesia daily as saying that only 25 percent of the
country's 170,000 elementary school buildings were in good
condition. The official, Gembong Priyanto, added that around 50
percent of the buildings were in a state of serious disrepair.</p><p>Engkoswara also said that a lack of coordination between the
ministries of education and public works had contributed to the
poor condition of the country's school buildings. "Decisions to
construct school buildings were often taken without adequate
consultation resulting in poor planning and the use of unsuitable
sites."</p><p>As an example, he cited Sukasari in Bandung, where there are
five elementary schools each with a small number of pupils.</p><p>"Such a waste. The authorities could have made better use of
the land by building a playground or a sports complex," he said.</p><p>The government recently announced plans to renovate 3,000
elementary school buildings in 200 districts around the country.
Sixty percent of the schools will be in Java.</p><p>Gembong said that Rp 434 billion of the social safety net
funds allocated to fund education projects would be used to
finance the renovations. (edt)</p>