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amilies, children and teachers from Parung in West Java celebrated the opening of a new school on Wednesday, on the eve of National Education Day.

SMPN 2 Parung junior high school was built by the local community with financial support from Australia. Through its education partnership with Indonesia, Australia will build or extend up to 2,000 junior high schools across Indonesia. This will improve access to education for approximately 300,000 more children in rural and remote areas of the country.

For more than seven years, the students and teachers of SMPN 2 Parung have share facilities with a nearby elementary school. With the new school opening, junior secondary students will finally have their own
learning facilities.

“Australia is working with the Indonesian government to build good quality and more easily accessible schools, because all Indonesian children deserve a good education,” said head of AusAID Indonesia, Jacqui De Lacy, in a press release.