InfoSAWIT, KOTAWARINGIN BARAT – Many remote areas are mostly minimum to get education (in schools). If the school exists, some children should walk on the hardest ways and would spend time (to get to the school). But many stakeholders are committed to provide educational institutions (in the remote areas).
For instance, palm oil plantation company, Best Agro International that develops a school in Village of Gandis, Sub district of Arut Utara, District of West Kotawaringin Barat, Central Kalimantan Province.
Sekolah Dasar (SD) 015 Best Agro is now the hope for many children who want to get higher education and to escalate the people’s education level around (the company’s operational). As InfoSAWIT quoted from non-profit organization, Desamind, the private elementary school managed by Best Agro International has students from palm oil labors’ children or those who now came from many villages out of Kalimantan Island. The information from the school revealed that 65% of the students’ parents were from Java, 10% from Kalimantan, and 25% from many regions in Indonesia. There are 157 students in the schools in total. “It is no doubt that one class consists of many students from Banjarnegara, Wonosobo, Cilacap, Jombang, Kupang, Bima, and others,” Desamind noted in its official page.
In fact, the students should struggle hard to get higher education. They have to do anything harder than those who are in good access and facility in other regions.
Though there has been bus to pick the students from their homes and deliver them back from school to their homes that the company provides, it is in long distance. They have to pass through palm oil plantations which the way could be muddy and should be an issue to get to school. Since 5 a.m. they have to be ready to get picked. It is not weird that many students do not take a bath still. They even did not have much time to wash their face, just get on the bus in their yesterday night – cloth, should be in rush, do not regular uniform because of power issue. The power operates from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
One habit to see regularly is that when the school has no many students because of their absence. Not because of being lazy but the rain forced the way cannot be passed or bus stops because of engine issue. The access to the school is only depending on the pickup.
It would spend much if they have to walk on the way to the school. When in the bus, it would spend about 1,5 hours. It is impossible to take the students by motorbike. Their parents should leave them from dawn to afternoon to work in the plantations. Online learning cannot be a solution because in the middle of palm oil plantations, signal of internet would be very minimal.
Though the students face this, they never go backward to get higher education. This is the spirit to get their dreams. The students in the school have rankings and much better than those in other school. They often won many competitions in sub district level and represented competition from their area. Some even competed in national level.
“The problem that palm oil plantation labors’ children face, proved that wherever they are, education is one thing to get. Overseas land within limited access is not a block and obstacles but a motivation to be beyond the limit,” Desamind noted. (T2)
