Hensje Lakahena pointed at a used plastic ball with the world map painted on its surface. A ship was painted sailing on the blue seas. On the ball’s surface, there were four thin wires with tiny rolls of sago tree bark attached to their ends like satellites up high in the sky.
Beside the ball there was a frame filled with snail shells arranged to form the points of a compass. The two simple props have helped Hensje’s students at SMKN 1 public vocational high school at Nusalaut, Central Maluku regency, Maluku, gain knowledge about the Earth, satellites and basic navigation science. This is in line with the required basic competence of nautical skills for work on fishing vessels.
The globe model and the points-of-the-compass frame were created to overcome the lack of props at the school that was established in 2013. Every day, the globe and the frame were stored on top of the cupboard in the principal’s office as there was no laboratory. The school only has the two makeshift props. The school has no compass, ocean charts, math compass, radio, radar, or training boat.
It has no computer lab. The three sets of computers that it bought in 2015 were still neatly packed in the principal’s office. The poor electricity service on the island makes the teachers reluctant to operate the computers.
The school has no library for students to read reference books. “Even if we had a library, what should we stock it with? We have no specific books on nautical science. We mostly use general science books and sometimes take learning materials from the web,” Hensje said in an interview on April 4.
The lack of skilled teachers complement the minimal attention the government gives to the school. The absence of a nautical science teacher forces Hensje, a graduate of the Maritime and Fisheries School at Pattimura University, to collaborate with another teacher with the same educational background to teach navigation. This is despite that a graduate of either a maritime academy or a marine engineering school with knowledge of ship anatomy is required for the job.
General subjects, such as math, physics, English, civics and entrepreneurship, are not managed by specialized teachers, either. Glen Parihala, who has a degree in Indonesian language and literature, also serves as a civics and entrepreneurship teacher. School principal Jodhie Kempa, with a degree in history, helps teach entrepreneurship, as well.
“We just do what we can to educate our students and keep our school open. We survive on the spirit to create a better future for these teenagers,” Jodhie said.
Relying on BOS fund
The school is located in Abubu village, Nusalaut Island, some 52 kilometers to the southeast of Ambon. From Tulehu village on Ambon Island, you need one and a half hours to reach Abubu.
The school has nine teachers, including Jodhie. Only Jodhie is officially recognized as a civil servant (PNS). The other teachers are contract workers who receives a monthly stipend of Rp 200,000 (US$15.04) from the school operational assistance (BOS) fund. The contract teachers are paid once every three months, in line with the BOS fund distribution schedule. The school’s quarterly operational budget of Rp 5.625 million is also paid using the BOS fund.
Glen said that his monthly stipend was not enough to buy a 20-kilogram sack of rice, which is sold for more than Rp 250,000. To meet his daily needs, the father of two sells snacks and cold drinks. “This is a burden, but becoming a teacher is a calling for me,” Glen said.
The school only has two classrooms and a teachers’ room that also doubles as an additional classroom. The teachers use the administration office to work while not in class. The only thing that indicates the school is based on nautical and fishing science is the students’ uniform.
The lack of supporting learning and teaching facilities makes things difficult for students during their three-month internship. Student Karlos Lekahena said that the first time he saw compasses, charts, radars and cold storage was during his internship. “We were taught how to use the equipment on the ship. We should have learned how to use them at school,” he said.
The SMKN 1 Nusalaut vocational high school is a grim portrait of a maritime vocational school that is included in the government’s priority programs. The presence of such schools is relevant to Maluku’s geographical characteristics as a region with small islands and an abundance of fish. The school is expected to educate new generations of local entrepreneurs who can exploit the marine potential of Maluku that has always been under the control of domestic and foreign fishery cartels.
