Catalog

Learning to Cope
ADB Review [ April 2005 ]

Banda Aceh’s schools and universities were hit hard by the tsunami. ADB is helping students return to class

By Ian Gill, (igill@adb.org)
Principal External Relations Specialist

A MARKED DIFFERENCE These children are back at kindergarten—but some classmates and their parents did not return

BANDA ACEH, INDONESIA

By late February, students were again assembling at the campus of Syiah Kuala University, registering for a new semester. There was a somber undertone to the chatter, however, as students spoke of absent friends—those who had been lost to the tsunami on 26 December 2004.

Nineteen-year-old Nur Azizali, who was registering for her third semester of mathematics and physics, says seven friends and one of her lecturers died after the giant wave inundated much of this city.

Nur is standing by a notice board with advertisements for missing loved ones. One asks about the whereabouts of Farida, an education student. Another offers a reward for information about Roni, who was in civil engineering.

CAMPUS CALAMITY Staff of Iskandar Muda University in Banda Aceh look bemused as they survey the damage

“It’s not easy to come back to class in such circumstances,” says Nur.

The house in which Nur rents accommodation had windows and a door damaged by the tsunami, but it is still livable, she says.

Others were less fortunate. More than 70,000 students—and 4,800 teachers—had to move to refugee camps after losing their homes to the tsunami.

Top

Returning to Classes

REGISTERING AT SYIAH KUALA UNIVERSITY — tens of thousands of students are now homeless

To help students resume their studies, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to use part of $6 million in loan savings to provide scholarships, says Staffan Synnerstrom, Governance Advisor at ADB’s Indonesia Resident Mission in Jakarta.

The funds will also be used to engage academics from other universities to replace teaching staff lost in the disaster, and to repair civil works.

The loan savings will come from an ongoing ADB project in higher education to increase the number of skilled professionals and technologists. Mr. Synnerstrom notes that, with project people and a system in place, the funds can be quickly disbursed.

In addition, ADB expects to provide substantial new funds, including grants, to rehabilitate damaged schools and build new ones in Aceh Province under an emergency assistance package being discussed with the Government. Some 1,260 schools were destroyed or severely damaged by the tsunami in Aceh and North Sumatra.

“It’s not easy coming back to class“

- Nur Azizali
Syiah Kuala University student

Top

Loss of Academic Expertise

Syiah Kuala University, one of the major institutions for higher learning in Banda Aceh, lost 15% of its staff—106 academics (including 12 PhD holders) and 108 administrative staff of a total of 1,400—in the calamity.

“We are trying to replace staff from other universities in the country,” says Rector Abdi A. Wahab. “But it’s not easy. Candidates ask how long they will be here, and they express concern about housing and security.”

“Student accommodation is a top priority,” says Dr. Mustanir, Dean of Mathematics and Natural Science at Syiah Kuala. Many aid agencies have discussed assistance, he notes, and a Turkish group is already building a student dormitory.

Near the university, the laughter of children wafts from a playground. However, the numbers are also down in this kindergarten.

“We lost 10 parents and 15 children,” says Suwarni, a teacher. “Only 70 children out of 100 have come back. Some didn’t want to return, asking if there would be water at the school.”

One 5-year-old girl, Sabrina, prefers to play alone. “She saw her mother carried away by the water,” says the teacher, in low voice. “She keeps asking, ‘Where is my mother?’”

Go back to current issue

Email this to a friend