Australia funds 94 Junior Secondary Schools in West Nusa Tenggara

Australian Cultural Attaché to Indonesia Fiona Hoggart attended the inauguration of SMPN 4 Narmada, Lombok with a group of Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program participants today. Exchange program participants joined with school students and staff to plant trees in the school grounds to mark the inauguration ceremony.

Ms Hoggart said SMPN 4 Narmada is one of 2000 schools built by Australia in partnership with the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Ministry of Religious Affairs.

“Australia is funding the construction of 94 junior secondary schools in West Nusa Tenggara as part of the Australian Indonesia Basic Education Program (AIBEP), making it a key province under the program.”

“Thirty-two of these schools were completed in time for the 2007 school year, with another 62 schools scheduled for completion before the 2008 school year,” Ms Hoggart said.

The partnership in 20 Indonesian provinces is worth Rp2.5 trillion. Around 1200 schools will be completed by June 2008. This will create more than 330,000 new junior secondary school places to benefit children from poor and remote areas. The partnership will also help improve the quality of education delivered in the new schools and strengthen the way education services are managed.

Local communities are building the schools using locally supplied materials. The school sites have been selected based on an assessment of unmet demand, enrolment rates and community involvement.

The 18 participants of the Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program who took part in the ceremony have been living in Lombok for two months to learn about Indonesia’s culture and way of life.

“As part of their activities, they’ve been studying Sasak dance and music as well as doing community development work in Sigerongan village where they lived. They also conducted workshops for the teachers and students in SMPN 4 Narmada on environmental issues,” Ms Hoggart said.

For further information on AIBEP, please visit: www.bep.or.id

Information for media:
Angky Septiana (Public Affairs Officer) – 0811 149 8056
Mia Salim (AusAID) – 0812 1070237