Batam faces classroom shortage

Fadli ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Batam   |  Mon, 05/19/2008 11:51 AM  |  The Archipelago

Elementary and junior high school graduates in Batam municipality are likely to have serious problems continuing their studies, with a serious shortage of seats available for 2008-2009 enrollments.

Data from the municipal education office shows that more than 9,000 students are expected to graduate from 203 private and state-run elementary schools this month, while the 70 junior high schools on the island can only cater for around 6,200 students.

This means if all these students pass their exams, nearly 3,000 graduates will not be able to find places.

The case is the same for junior high school graduates -- there are some 3,500 places available at Batam's 47 senior and vocational high schools, but the number of junior high school graduates is also expected to reach 6,200.

"This is a classic case ... Every year there are always students who are not able to find places at the existing schools," said Setyasih Priherlina, vice chairwoman of the municipal legislature's Commission A dealing with education and labor affairs.

Speaking to The Jakarta Post over the weekend, Setyasih said the shortage had first emerged in 1999, following a population explosion which had occurred due to a massive increase in immigration following the 1998 economic crisis.

Coupled with an increase in birth rates, Batam's population has increased sharply from 462,000 in 2000, to 724,000 in 2007.

As a result, the increase in numbers of school-age children is no longer in proportion with the education facilities available.

Ideally, Setyasih said, two new classrooms would be built at each elementary, junior and senior high school on the island, every year, according to the population growth rate.

However, due budgeting restrictions, the local education office has only been able to build a few schools in the municipality's most densely populated areas.

Setyasih was deeply concerned that the municipal administration had allocated 20 percent of its budget toward education, but the funds had yet to be used to procure education facilities.

Instead, she said, the budget had been spent largely on paying teachers and to cover other expenses that did not support the teaching or learning process.

To deal with the crisis, Setyasih said, her office had urged the education office to work more closely with the private sector.

Separately, Batam municipal education office head Muslim Bidin said his office had conducted various measures to deal with the classroom shortage.

The local administration, he said, were considering holding evening classes from 1 p.m to 5 p.m., until new classrooms had been built and new teaching staff had been recruited.

"This will increase the capacity of the existing schools so they can accommodate more students," he said.

Muslim also said his office was set allocate funds to build 60 new classrooms (in its 2008 budget) for elementary and junior high schools, but this still falls well short of the ideal figure of 200 new classrooms.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.