Ministry of Social Affairs Begins the Renovation of SLBN A in Pajajaran Bandung

BANDUNG (February 24, 2023) - Three workers were seen on the roof of a building. Even though the weather was uncertain, they were continuously removing the roof tiles from up there.

Tile by tile was lowered in a relay and with great care while ensuring every foothold. Down there, two other workers readily waited to accept the roof tiles from them.

A moment later, the five of them shifted to the roof of the building next to them to do the same activities. The building whose roof was being demolished was Pajajaran A State Extraordinary School (SLBN) building in Bandung.

The building, with four units on a 1,247 square meters area, is a place for 75 students with sensory-blind disabilities at the elementary to high school levels to gain daily knowledge.

The building stands on a land area of 1,643.25 square meters, in the office area of Technical Implementation Unit (UPT) belonging to Ministry of Social Affairs, namely "Wyata Guna" Center in Bandung.

The renovation of SLB was an instruction from Minister of Social Affairs Tri Rismaharini to increase the accessibility of educational facilities for persons with disabilities. The renovated building units include teacher rooms, classrooms, and Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) rooms or computer labs.

Of the quick response of Ministry of Social Affairs, Head of SLBN A Pajajaran Gun Gun Guntara, expressed his gratitude to the Minister of Social Affairs.

"Yes, I am personally happy. We welcome the improvement of this school. As what parents have been worried about all this time, who have been watching and monitoring their children's learning process from the window, regarding the safety of their children in the classrooms, is starting to fade," Gun Gun said when met on Wednesday (22/2).
In addition, while the school is being renovated, Ministry of Social Affairs through the "Wyata Guna" Center in Bandung, also facilitated classrooms for their students to study.

"Thank God, from the Minister’s instructions through the Head of the Center, (for classrooms and student exams) it is facilitated here (Center hall). Hopefully, next Monday's exam, the students won't be disturbed. That is becoming my thought, I don't want their activities to be disrupted," he said.

For this reason, he hopes the school renovations will be carried out optimally so that the building can truly meet usable standards and that it will no longer endanger blind students who are studying in the classrooms.

The renovation activities were seen to have been carried out by the five workers from Wednesday (22/2) until Friday (24/2). From morning to evening.

Tarna Sutisna, the foreman or field implementer for the renovation of SLBN A Pajajaran, who is in charge of the renovation, said that the dismantling involved dismantling the roof and sills which took less than seven days.

“The first thing to dismantle is old roof and sills. The demolition will take about a week or less, starting from Wednesday (22/2) until tomorrow Saturday (25/2). After that, the next plan is to make a new roof truss," said Tarna.

He said that the demolition of certain parts was the result of his joint observations with the school and Center. From a physical point of view, according to him, the roof and sills are already damaged and not feasible.

So, he continued, the parts that are no longer possible and time to renovate, will be replaced with the new ones. "For the wooden roof, we will replace it with a light steel frame. For the sills, we replace them with aluminum sills," he said.

The demolition of this school was carried out after Minister of Social Affairs' visit to "Wyata Guna" Center in Bandung, including to SLBN A Pajajaran, last Tuesday (21/2). The Minister is committed to improving the quality of classroom facilities and building the capacity of students at the school.

"Okay, the building is renovated, rooms are added, and what is damaged is repaired. We will finish (renovating this school). What can be developed, we develop it," said her, recently.

Grow the Independence of Students with Disabilities

During the visit, Minister of Social Affairs Risma considered the future development of students at SLBN A Pajajaran, who needed jobs after school, so the Minister built cafes and business centers for persons with disabilities within Center area.

“By the time, in its development, children with disabilities who study here need jobs. Finally, we made a cafe for the blind. There are also other business centers for physical disabilities, ODGJ, and others here," said Risma explaining.

The cafes and business centers can be used as learning places so that persons with disabilities can become independent entrepreneurs to fulfill their own lives.

Risma said many of them can earn more money than people who are not disabled. This potential is what Ministry of Social Affairs is trying to develop in each Center, such as “Wyata Guna” Center in Bandung.

In this case, Ministry of Social Affairs continues to encourage independence for persons with disabilities, including in terms of education, to independence, through Ministry of Social Affairs Centers which are multi-service throughout Indonesia.

Public Relations Bureau
Ministry of Social Affairs RI