Due to the dire state of school buildings in Jakarta thousands of students risk their lives everyday just by attending class.

Deputy Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama said on Thursday that many school buildings in Jakarta were substandard and the institutions often lacked proper disaster anticipation measures.

'€œFlood and fire are big threats in Jakarta, not to mention the poor quality of the school buildings. I am sure at least 30 percent of school buildings in Jakarta suffer from structural damage caused by termites. These buildings could collapse at anytime,'€ Ahok told reporters on the sidelines of a safe school seminar at City Hall.

Ahok acknowledged that disaster mitigation measures had not been carried out properly.

'€œWe have provided disaster drills but efforts have been lackluster. The whole [city] environment is not safe for children, this is why we want to solve this issue by improving the capital'€™s urban design.

'€œFor example, we aim to relocate poor families to low-cost apartments and build public facilities, such as schools nearby, so kid don'€™t have to travel too far from home,'€ he said, adding that the city would dedicate 30 percent of its budget to education every year.

Ricardo Caivano, country director of Save the Children, cited the unpreparedness of teachers and students was a huge challenge the city administration had to overcome to ensure school safety.

'€œEnsuring a safe learning environment is the top priority. However, teachers and students must also be prepared. They need to understand the dangers and what to do in the case of an emergency [...] we'€™re not completely there yet,'€ Caivano told The Jakarta Post.

According to Save the Children, school building damaged accounted for US$55 billion in state losses every year.

Budiyanto, the Jakarta Education Agency high school curriculum division head, said there were at least 251 school buildings in the capital were located in flood prone areas.

'€œSome buildings have been renovated but others have had full face lifts. We have assessment teams to determine what level of renovation a school building may need,'€ he said.

The agency allocates between Rp 1.5 billion ($129,960) and Rp 10 billion to each school for repair and renovation work.

Ahok suggested that new buildings should use light-gauge steel framing instead of the traditional wood.

'€œLight steel is now more affordable than the best wood logs. Building materials will be included in our e-catalog so we can tender the construction project. This will prevent fraudulent practice during construction,'€ Ahok said.

The city administration also plans to equip school buildings prone to flooding with flood barriers.

Danang Susanto, Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency'€™s (BPBD) division head, said that there was about 100 school buildings in 62 flood-prone areas across Jakarta that need more attention.

'€œBy mapping the problem we can prioritize and encourage people living in the area to increase their preparedness. We can'€™t avoid floods, for example, but we can prevent the extensive damage inflicted on school facilities like computers and books,'€ he said.

The BPBD has also implemented a training for trainer (TOT) program for public teachers.

'€œWe have trained 50 teachers from 50 different schools. They can then train colleagues and students in their respective schools,'€ he said, adding that the agency would increase the number of participants every year.

The city has 2,220 elementary schools, 289 junior high schools, 117 high schools and 63 vocational schools.

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