Gov’t Completes Construction, Rehabilitation of 12 Schools in N. Kalimantan Border

North Sebatik 001 Public Elementary School, Nunukan, North Kalimantan Province. (Photo by: Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing)

The Indonesian Government through the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) has announced its commitment to continue supporting the efforts to improve the quality of human resources through the construction and rehabilitation of educational facilities, with priority in the Frontier, Outermost, and Disadvantaged (3T) Regions.

This is in accordance with the development principle of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo who built Indonesia from the periphery by strengthening regions and villages in the framework of a unitary state.

Minister of PUPR Basuki Hadimuljono stated that the rehabilitation of educational facilities is President Jokowi’s directive to the Ministry. The President instructed the acceleration of the construction and rehabilitation of 10,000 schools, madrasas, and State Universities (PTN)/State Islamic Religious Universities (PTKIN) throughout Indonesia.

“We continue to build educational facilities to support the improvement of the quality of human resources. Take advantage of the facilities that have been built. The next generation must be smarter because the facilities are better,” Basuki said.

Director of Strategic Infrastructure to the Directorate General of Human Settlements of the Ministry of PUPR Iwan Suprijanto said that the rehabilitation of this educational facility is in accordance with Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 43 of 2019 on Development, Rehabilitation, or Renovation of People’s Markets, Higher Education Infrastructure, and Elementary and Secondary Education Units.

In the North Kalimantan border region, the Ministry through the North Kalimantan Regional Settlement Infrastructure Center has completed rehabilitation and renovation of 12 elementary and secondary schools that have been built through the border areas of Indonesia and Malaysia. Eight of them are elementary schools while the rest are junior high schools located in Malinau and Nunukan regencies.

The Head of the Center Dony Fitriandy stated that there are two schools located in Malinau Regency, namely Sungai Benda 002 Elementary School and Mentarang Hulu 1 Junior High School. Meanwhile, six schools are located on the Krayan Border in Nunukan Regency, namely South Krayan 2 Junior High School, South Krayan 1 Junior High School, Krayan 2 Junior High School, Krayan 012 Elementary School, Krayan 014 Elementary School, and Krayan 009 Elementary School. The remaining schools, he said, are located in the Sebatik Island border in Nunukan Regency, namely West Sebatik 001 Elementary School, Central Sebatik 001 Elementary School, Central Sebatik 002 Elementary School, and North Sebatik 001 Elementary School.

“The main challenges in school rehabilitation located in border areas are difficulties in material transportation and limited access to locations. For example, the location of the Sungai Tubuh Subdistrict is very difficult to reach because we have to use a 32-hour longboat and continue on foot for two days and two nights,” Dony said.

Another major challenge, according to Dony, is the raw material that must be imported from outside of the area. “To reach Krayan Subdistrict, the only access to get there is by air transportation, and even then we must report one week before departure to the airline. Likewise, in the Sebatik Island region, we must send materials from outside of the Sebatik Island,” he said.

With all these limitations, Dony stated that his party still strives to complete the existing project in order to improve the quality of equal education throughout Indonesia. “The total budget for the rehabilitation and renovation of 12 schools is Rp34 billion. For now, the schools built have been handed over to the temporary management of the Malinau and Nunukan Regency Governments to be utilized in the teaching and learning process,” he said. (BKP Kementerian PUPR/EN)

Translated by: Fairuzzamani Inayatillah
Reviewed by: Yuyu Mulyani