Australia Helps Restore Education in Aceh

The Australian government has launched a program of building school buildings and their facilities in Nangroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) province at a total cost of 7 million Australian dollars.

The program, the Australian embassy in Jakarta said on Wednesday, will be applied for three years, during which the Australian government will help the Aceh administration provide access to elementary education for Acehnese children, and raise the quality of education in Aceh province.


Under an Australia-Indonesia partnership scheme, development assistance for Aceh will be further increased under a number of plans for the Local Governance Innovations for Communities in Aceh (LOGICA) for a period of five years at a total cost of 30 million Australian dollars.

The program is a continuation of the initial stage of the LOGICA program which had helped hundreds of villages and scores of local administrations rebuild the areas devastated by the December 26, 2004 tsunami.

And in the five years that follow, hundreds of community members will be trained in skills for cooperation with the government in the improvement of health, education and infrastructure.

"Education, training and good government management are key factors in restorations and long-term construction in Aceh. Under a partnership between the government and Aceh residents, the Australian assistance under this program will contribute to the attainment of a better future," Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Bill Farmer said.

In the meantime, Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf hailed the planned cooperation in the prioritized development of his administration with a view to increasing skills in education, financial management, and human resources.

He said that assistance was still needed in the post 2004 tsunami period and following years of conflicts in the province.

The Australian government has been working together with the Acehnese people since 2004. The new program helped Australia realize a statement made by the Australian prime minister last year on a 50 million Australian dollar (Rp 450 billion) commitment to continue the restoration of Aceh until 2013.