Govt to renovate 65 percent of school buildings in Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 02/03/2009 8:29 PM  

In an effort to improve the quality of education, the Jakarta administration will renovate 321 primary, secondary and vocational schools. 

Jakarta Infrastructure Division head Didi Sugandi said Tuesday that the renovation efforts fell into three categories: total, medium and major renovation. 

He added a total of 19 schools would undergo total renovations, 229 schools were scheduled for major reconstruction, and the remaining 10 would undergo medium-scale repairs. 

"The total volume of school buildings suggested for the reconstruction project was 497, but only 321 buildings will be worked on this year, while the remaining 179 have yet to be included in this year's renovation target," Sugandi said, as quoted by kompas.com. 

Around Rp 233 billion has been set aside for schools undergoing total reconstruction, with Rp 348 billion allocated for schools undergoing major reconstruction. 

According to Jakarta Education Agency secretary Ujang Arifin, 18 percent of schools in the city are reported to have collapsed, 22.2 percent are in dire conditions, and 13 percent are in need of medium restoration work. (amr)