Students soldier on at exam time

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 06/06/2006 2:29 PM

Slamet Susanto and Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Bantul

Zauni showed up for his math final Monday with more than geometric principles weighing on his mind.

Like many of his classmates at Sewon I state elementary school in Bantul regency, Yogyakarta, Zauni's family lost almost everything in the May 27 earthquake.

He wore his uniform but he had no shoes -- they are buried somewhere in the rubble of his home -- as he took the test, the first of three held on consecutive days that he must pass to graduate to junior high.

""My house collapsed and I have to live in a tent with my family,"" said the sixth grader, his eyes bloodshot from a lack of sleep due to studying.

It was difficult to study for the exams -- originally scheduled for June 1-3 -- with the electricity supply yet to be restored in his area.

""I just study whenever possible... It's just I'm still afraid to be inside a room,"" said the youngest of two siblings.

And exam conditions were anything but ideal for the 11,000 elementary school students from 400 schools in Bantul. They sat down to answer questions in the hollow shells of their damaged schools, in open fields or emergency tents.

Some clasped the tests as they sat on thin mats, while others lay down on the ground. Some had no uniforms, but wore casual shirts and pants. Most, like Zauni, were shoeless.

""This is how it is. We're afraid to hold the test in classrooms because the walls are cracked. We don't want the students to be worried when in class and for their focus to be disrupted during the test,"" said Siti Maslamah, principal of SD Peni in Bantul.

Three of the school's 140 students died in the disaster.

Even schools whose buildings were largely undamaged, like Jurug Bangunharjo elementary school in Sewon, arranged the test outside.

""The school is still fit to be used but we held the test outside because of the trauma,"" said the school's principal Purwaningsih.

""It's not only the children who are traumatized by the earthquake. We adults feel the same, especially because three of our students died when their houses collapsed.""

Officials and aid agencies like Unicef have expressed concern about the psychological toll on young survivors of the quake.

Teachers have tried to counsel students, through engaging them in discussions and playing games, to help them in returning to the classroom.

""For sixth graders who could not take part in the test, they will be given certificates with grades based on their daily performance,"" said Yogyakarta Education Agency chief Sugito. ""But if they want to continue to junior high school they have to take the test.

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