Banten schools beg for renovations

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Banten

Students and teachers at state elementary school SDN Cibagus in Serang regency are keeping their fingers crossed — hoping the dilapidated roofs above them will not cave in.

The school headmaster has asked teachers and students to stay alert when they are inside the 30-year-old building, as the roof may collapse anytime.

“As long as my daughter remains at the school, I cannot relax. Who can tell when the roof will collapse? Who will be responsible if my child is injured or — God forbid — dies?” Ikah Mastuni said.

The 35-year-old mother of three was waiting for her 9-year-old daughter outside the school.

After being approached by worried parents, the school management asked the Serang regency administration to renovate the building.

Principal Syariffudin said there was no need to move out of the school, saying the condition of the building was much worse when he first started at the school two years ago.

“The regency education agency has told us the renovation of this school building is not a top priority,” he said, adding that activities at the school must go on — the teachers must continue teaching and students must keep studying.

Ikah is not alone. Thousands of parents in Banten worry their children are in danger of being injured, should their schools collapse before they are renovated.

Even worse conditions can be seen at state elementary school SDN Umbul Kapuk in Panggung Jati village.

Students in grades four to six are forced to study under a large tent erected outside the building because their classrooms collapsed.

Rohimi, the school keeper, said three classrooms collapsed two years ago while students were studying inside.

“Luckily, no one was injured. It was a miracle,” he said.

Data from the provincial education agency shows there are 15,358 schools — comprising elementary schools, junior high schools and senior high schools — which are currently in poor condition across the province.

Some 876 of the schools are badly damaged and in need of immediate renovation.

Many school buildings appear to be in good condition from the outside, as their outer walls have been painted.

But inside there are holes and cracks in the walls and most of the chairs and tables are in poor condition, rattling when touched.

The classrooms have no ceilings, window frames are missing, missing roofs have been replaced with corrugated iron and the untiled floors collect dust.

Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiah said Banten’s school rehabilitation program could not begin this year as planned because the National Education Ministry had not yet allocated the funding.

“The ministry signed an agreement with the province last year on the allocation of financial resources for the program but it did not set aside the budgetary funds for the renovation of schools across the province,” she said.

Atut said the ministry had only allocated funds for routine expenditures, although the central government increased the education budget in order to keep state aid for education at the same level.

Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo signed a memorandum of understanding with the then Banten acting governor Ratu Atut Chosiah at the ministry’s office in Jakarta on May 4, last year.

According to Atut, it was clearly stated in the agreement the ministry would contribute 50 percent of the Rp 1.2 trillion needed for the rehabilitation program and another Rp 200 billion for the province’s illiteracy elimination program.

The provincial and regency administrations were to respectively cover 30 and 20 percent of the costs.

“We regret to say that the school rehabilitation program, which we’d expected would get underway this year, won’t happen,” she said.

Thousands of teachers from Banten and West Java provinces marched through Jakarta on Thursday, demanding the national educational budget be increased to 20 percent of the state budget, as required by the Constitution.