‘Neglected’ schools in NTT and Jambi

Stories about dishearteningly substandard teaching facilities across the country, especially those in remote regions, appear to be never ending in this country’s national educational system.

The most recent reports about neglected schools have come in from East Nusa Tenggara and Jambi; in both cases, the government has been criticized for failing to heed the issue.

School students in Belu regency have to attend classes in a structure topped with weeds and with wooden walls and a dirt floor.

Located in Haitimuk village, Belu, East Nusa Tenggara, the physical condition of the Inpres Kecil Kelis Bundao elementary school has only added to the dismal educational conditions in the border area with Timor Leste.

During the rainy season, the school’s 129 students are forced to follow classes in the wet because the roof leaks, while during the dry season, the rooms are filled with dust. Goat dung is sometimes found piling up in the corners.

“Such conditions detract from the learning program. Part of the wall has collapsed because of termites,” Petrus Seran Nahak, the school’s principal, said on Thursday.

“But the government has not paid attention to the problem. We need a more suitable building,” he said. He is the only one of the school’s 17 teachers who has the status of civil servant, while the others have been recruited on a temporary basis.

The school, which was built in 2009 on the initiative of local residents, is not equipped with a library or other supporting facilities.

“We even buy chalk with our own money. This is really disheartening,” Petrus said.

With no dividers between rooms, noisiness is unavoidable.

The school is an extension to the neighboring Kleseleon elementary school to accommodate the growing number of students in the village.

Patrisius Asa, head of the Education, Youth and Sports Agency, said he had not received a report about the issue. “Where is the school? We will find out. In principle, we will help, on condition that the school has a clear status,” he said.

The Education and Culture Ministry drew up a plan earlier this year to repair 131,526 classrooms in elementary and junior high schools across the country, with a budget allocation of Rp 17.6 trillion.

In Jambi, a school in Muarojambi regency has to use a room, which was initially allocated for toilets,
for classes in order to accommodate the students.

“We have endured these conditions for a long time. We are sad to see the students studying in a former restroom,” said Mujia, a resident of Kebon IX village, Sungaigelam district, adding that he hoped the government would help them soon.

The school is located not far from a councillor’s house, a fact that, according to Mujia, makes a mockery of the council’s function.

Schools in dire conditions were also reported in Talang Kerinci and Sido Mukti villages.

“I always raise the issue of the school’s improvement when we have a meeting, but there has been no clear action,” a village official, Kuncoro, said.

Kuncoro and officials from other villages were hopeful that the government would respond to their complaints.