Head of the ministry's general affairs bureau, Triantoro, stated at a seminar here on Wednesday that the guidelines are embodied in the Disaster Safe Education Unit Program (SPAB) designed by experts in disaster mitigation, education, and civil engineering.
The program has three main goals of improving the capacity of human resources in educational units to deal with and reduce disaster risks, protecting investments in educational units to ensure they are safe from disasters, and improving the quality of educational units' facilities and infrastructure.
"The eighth point of the SPAB states that schools are required to conduct routine (disaster) drills twice a year, or the more the better," he remarked.
He noted that the drills must involve all parties, including students, teachers, and residents around the school.
The SPAB program also encourages schools to improve their capacity to maintain existing buildings so they are resistant to damage due to disasters, especially earthquakes.
He noted that the education offices in regions must monitor the utilization of school operational assistance funds for school building maintenance.
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This is deemed essential as in the last 15 years, the ministry recorded 15,300 educational units whose buildings were damaged by earthquakes.
He noted that the SPAB is the main basis for education offices in districts, cities, and provinces to reduce disaster risks among children.
He further affirmed that as vulnerable groups, children must have adequate preparedness.
Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) in 2022 recorded that out of Indonesia's total population, 88 million are children. Thus, schools play an important role in educating them on ways to face disasters.
The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) has highlighted the vulnerability of children in facing disasters, such as the lack of knowledge, limited psychosocial support, and minimal assistance services.
This vulnerability has serious impacts, as evidenced by the KPAI data showing 33 cases of child marriage among those aged 13-17 years due to the earthquake and tsunami in Palu, Central Sulawesi, and 37 cases of child trafficking after the tsunami in Aceh.
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Translator: M Riezko, Raka Adji
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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