TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Prabowo’s school renovation push begins amid chronic problems
As the government embarks upon President Prabowo Subianto’s push for the revitalization of over 10,000 schools this year, calls are mounting for stronger oversight and strategic planning to ensure the Rp 16.9 trillion (US$1.02 billion) program effectively addresses the country’s crumbling education infrastructure.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Critical repairs: Sleman Regent Harda Kiswaya inspects a classroom on May 4 at Kledokan elementary school where a section of the roof had collapsed after heavy rain. (Antara/The Sleman administration)
A
s the government embarks on President Prabowo Subianto’s push for the revitalization of over 10,000 schools this year, calls are mounting for stronger oversight and strategic planning to ensure the Rp 16.9 trillion (US$1.02 billion) program effectively addresses the country’s crumbling education infrastructure.
According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), a significant portion of schools are currently experiencing varying degrees of structural damage with elementary schools in the worst condition. Only 40 percent of classrooms in elementary schools are in good shape, while nearly 49 percent are moderately damaged and over 10 percent are severely damaged.
Middle schools follow closely, with almost half being damaged. Some 42.1 percent of classrooms are moderately damaged, while 6.63 percent are severely damaged. Classrooms in vocational and high schools also show high levels of deterioration, at 35 percent and 38 percent, respectively.
The President acknowledged the scale of the challenge, noting that the target of revitalizing 10,440 schools this year represents only a fraction of what is needed.
“It might take 30 years to repair them all, but we should not give up,” Prabowo said during the National Education Day celebrations at SD Cimahpar 5 state elementary school in Bogor Regency, West Java, last Friday. “We just have to fix as many schools as quickly as possible”.
Read also: Prabowo announces quick wins in education
That same day, Elementary and Secondary Education Minister Abdul Mu’ti inaugurated the program’s first project at SD 3 Leuwibatu, a decades-old elementary school in Bogor Regency, which will be transformed into a two-story facility featuring a library and so-called “smart classrooms” with interactive television screens.
