18 September 2023
,,,It has been one week since the students of Loji Permai Middle School (SMP) and Tunas Muda High School (SMA) in Kawasi Village, Obi Subdistrict, South Halmahera, North Maluku started studying in their new school building. They left their old schools and moved to the new school, which is located in the new housing area of Kawasi Village, about 5 kilometers away. During this time, the teaching and learning process, as well as the two computer-based national assessments (ANBK) for SMP and SMA, went smoothly and satisfactorily.
The Kawasi village government, the management of Tunas Muda High School and the management of Loji Permai Middle School started the teaching and learning process at the new school site for 232 students on Monday (23/09/11), facilitated by the Sustainable Integrated Mining and Downstreaming Company, PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk (NCKL) or Harita Nickel. Each morning, the students were picked up at around 06:30 WIT not far from their homes. With 3 (three) buses and 1 (one) minibus provided by Harita Nickel, they all went to the new school building. The SMP and SMA buildings are actually located in the same area. A total of 125 SMP students are in the building on the right, while 107 SMA students are in the building on the left."
The principal of Loji Permai Middle School, Nahor Difu, said, "The school building in the new residential area of Kawasi Village is very good and excellent. It has many facilities, such as computer labs and Internet access, which make the students feel comfortable during their learning activities."
From field observations, several students expressed their happiness to experience something new.
"It is an exciting experience. Before, we used to go to school individually, but now we can go together with our friends," said Meltri Impun, an 11th grader at Tunas Muda High School.
Meanwhile, Apesia Aviani, a seventh-grade student at Loji Permai Middle School, also expressed her happiness and satisfaction with the comfortable learning environment in the new school building.
In addition to the new experience of using transportation provided by the company to go to school, students in this new school building can also practice in the computer lab for the first time.
"The facilities are more complete. There was no computer lab in the old school, but now we have one here," said Christin S. Sambur, an 8th-grade student at Loji Permai Middle School.
The relocation of learning activities has had a significant impact, especially on the eighth and eleventh graders who are directly involved in the National Computer-Based Examination (ANBK) in the computer lab located in their own village.
Ligia Matinahor, a teacher and computer operator for the ANBK at Loji Permai Middle School, said that in the past, students had to take the ANBK in Obi, the district capital, in Laiwui village. As recently as two years ago, students were sent to the South Halmahera Regency capital of Labuha because there were no schools in the local district with adequate facilities for ANBK.
"We were always hit by waves on the way, and when we arrived, we had to stay with local people until the ANBK was completed. Thank God, this year we don't have to go to Bacan or Laiwui because we can now do ANBK in the new settlement with the help of laptops and internet provided by Harita Nickel," said Ligia.
Obet Siar, principal of Tunas Muda High School, also expressed his appreciation for Harita Nickel's attention to the continuity of education for his students. According to him, this concern is a tangible manifestation of the company's commitment to the future of education for the children of Kawasi Village. He believes the move is a necessary part of the learning process. The improved facilities have made the teaching and learning process more effective.
"This is something positive; we can now conduct ANBK in our own school. Conducting ANBK in Laiwui sub-district and the district capital requires a significant budget. We had to pay for boat tickets and accommodation, which cost between 10 and 20 million rupiahs for transportation alone," said Obet Siar.
Stevi Thomas, Harita Nickel's director of external relations, said the school's move to the new settlement in Kawasi village was done by mutual agreement to provide more appropriate educational facilities for local children. According to him, education as a crucial foundation for improving the quality of human resources must be supported with adequate infrastructure and resources.
"From the first day to today, the fourth day, we have seen renewed enthusiasm on the faces of both students and teachers. We understand the message that this new school location is having a positive impact and has generated new enthusiasm," said Stevi, while attending the school relocation ceremony on Thursday (14/9/2023).
Stevi reaffirmed the company's commitment to supporting the government's efforts to improve the quality of education. He explained that education is one of the five focus areas of the Community Development and Empowerment Program (PPM) that Harita Nickel is implementing in the vicinity of its operations on Obi Island. These five aspects include education, health, economy, infrastructure and socio-cultural development.
According to him, education, which is a critical foundation for improving the quality of human resources, must be supported with adequate facilities and infrastructure.
"We already have a computer lab, and we are continuously expanding the library's book collection. In the future, we will also have a physics laboratory. We will continue to push for improvements in facilities and infrastructure. We have a long-term vision. Graduates from this school, especially from the high school, should be competitive not only regionally but also nationally," he concluded.
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