UI's first on-campus dormitory opened
UI's first on-campus dormitory opened
JAKARTA (JP): University of Indonesia (UI) Rector M.K. Tadjudin opened yesterday dormitories for new students on the university's Depok campus, 20 kilometers south of here.
It is the first on-campus dormitory the 46-year-old university has ever had. Its Depok campus opened its gates in 1986.
The new dormitories, consisting of four buildings with a total of 398 rooms, stands on 6,354 sq.m. of land.
Tadjudin said the construction of the dormitories was part of the university efforts to provide students with facilities.
The new dormitories were a surprise to some people, as the previous rector, Sujudi, now minister of health, had stated that there would be no students' dormitory in Depok. He made the statement when officiating the new campus complex 10 years ago.
He said at the time that he wanted to develop the local people's welfare by giving them the opportunity to run boarding houses.
Sujudi also attended yesterday's opening ceremony.
Tadjudin said yesterday the construction of the new dormitories was Sujudi's idea.
Sujudi did not say why he changed his mind.
Tadjudin denied, however, that the University of Indonesia has changed its commitment to developing the welfare of people living around the campus. "The boarding house business around campus will not be affected by the new dormitories. The dormitories have only 398 rooms, while the University of Indonesia has 28,000 students."
The new dormitories were built by PT Nurtirta Nusalestari, a private contractor owned by former Jakarta governor Tjokropranolo. The on-campus dorms are meant to replace the old dormitory on Jl. Pegangsaan Timur, Central Jakarta.
Monthly fee
According to Tjokropranolo, his company spent Rp 6 billion on constructing the dormitories, although it planned to spent only Rp 3 billion on the construction.
Tadjudin said the dormitories will also help students from low-income families.
A student needs to pay only Rp 50,000 per month to live in a campus dorm, while it costs at least Rp 60,000 to rent a room in a boarding house.
Ninety-three students, 41 males and 42 females, have been living in the new dormitories since the soft opening in April last year.
Dina Utami, one dormitory occupant told The Jakarta Post yesterday that the dormitories needed additional facilities and better security.
There is no public telephone, photocopy machines or computer rentals available in the vicinity of the dormitories, she said. "Public transport is another problem for students who want to go out of the campus," she added.
She said the security is bad since a Peeping Tom spied on female student several times.
A man even entered a female student's room last month, she added.
The University of Indonesia will improve the condition of the dormitories and provide additional facilities, the rector promised. (29)