Without the capacity to address the diverse damages as a
central agency, in 2011 the Ministry of Finance changed the
existing Special Allocation Fund (DAK) – previously used
for purchasing computers or textbooks – to help maintain
education buildings. They drastically increased the portion
of the budget allotted to physical expenditures and allocated
funds according to damage level and student enrolment.
School management committees could use these funds to
build new schools or repair existing ones as they saw fit.
Challenges to this approach
Construction was a new responsibility for the school
management committees. They had to hire their own
contractors and sub-contractors to help them build new
schools or retrofit existing ones. While committees did
receive some assistance from a MoEC engineer to oversee a
project, they did not always have the capacity to implement
construction projects nor the appropriate knowledge to
prioritise school safety. As a result, DAK funds have been
spent returning buildings to their original condition, rather
than improving structural components to make them safer.
According to an Indonesian report prepared for the World
Bank, decentralisation of school construction increased
ownership and decreased costs. In situations where
school communities were already oriented to disaster risk
reduction principles and where school principals took the
lead in construction, school quality increased. However, the
government is still working through some challenges related
to safer school construction.
• Technical oversight. The government has not created
an appropriate technical advisory system and school
communities often lack the funds to perform rehabilitation
and hire a technical consultant. Even if consultants are
hired, they often lack the appropriate information to build
hazard-resistant design according to local building code
bylaws.
• Public sector coordination. In Indonesia, the MoPW is
responsible for writing and enforcing the building codes,
including the design review and construction inspection
of schools. Unfortunately, local public works offices are
given the same amount of funds regardless of the number
of schools in a district. With so many diverse infrastructure
tasks to supervise they rarely perform thorough checks –
especially if the school is single story. In addition, public
works officials rotate between departments to reduce
corruption, but with the fast turnover rate officials rarely
develop sufficient experience for thoroughly overseeing
school projects.
Under the current DAK fund, the responsibility to
finance the supervision of school projects rests on local
governments. Because local governments finance the
supervision, each unique local political economy can
influence the construction costs, potentially compromising
quality assurance and safety.
Noticing these funding and capacity issues, the
MoEC provided a special portion of money for quality
supervision for each school. Currently, this fund is only
applicable for school construction directly financed by the
MoEC and not for construction using the DAK fund.
• Construction speed. To compound these challenges,
the speed at which school management committees must
spend DAK funds has pressured school communities to
implement projects faster than they are capable. Special
allocation funds must be completed in three months to
receive another allocation of money across all sectors.
Other departments relying on DAK funds for education
materials may pressure schools to finish their work within
the three-month funding window so the funds for their
sectors will not be delayed.
SECTION II: OVERVIEW
Even though the government knew about some of the
problems with school buildings, they did not know specifics.
To address this, the MoEC contracted a private company to
determine the extent of damage and disrepair of Indonesian
school buildings. Considering geographic and logistical
challenges, the government allowed school committees to
perform basic damage assessments that were then vetted
at the district level. After years of surveys, the government
learned that one-third of the total schools – more than 89,000
– fell into the heavily damaged and medium damaged
category.
Community-based school construction policy at the national
level is possible, but creating incentives that produce safer
schools is a complex and lengthy process. In Indonesia, the
decentralised approach may be the only opportunity to reach
all communities. At the same time, decentralised construction
and repair may be, in some cases, of substandard quality.
And in Indonesia, where natural hazards are frequent, new
vulnerabilities are especially dangerous.
Key takeaways
• Decentralised methods in regions with diverse contexts
allow localities the freedom to address their unique needs.
• Even though school management committees can
address their own needs well, they may not be
immediately capable of managing a construction project.
• Oversight must remain a top priority even if schools
management committees are given greater autonomy in
construction.
Democratically elected school management committees may use
funds to construct new schools or retrofit unsafe ones. The country
is working to developing effective systems for providing technical
support to local school management committees.
Photo: GFDRR.
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