DNA member Ronnie Brunswijk proposes temporarily setting up the Brunswijkstadion in Moengo as a teaching location for the pupils of O.S. Wonoredjo. A large part of the school building was destroyed by fire on Wednesday evening.
According to Brunswijk, every effort must be made to prevent the pupils from being deprived of education for an extended period. “We can set up the Brunswijkstadion in such a way that the pupils can attend lessons there,” Brunswijk tells D-TV Express. He calls the fire a disaster for the Moengo community and stresses that education is essential for children’s development.
“The basis of development is educating people, and so many children now no longer have a place to attend classes,” said the chairman of the ABOP.
According to Brunswijk, the school also has special historical and emotional value. It is an old school building where generations of pupils have received education. According to him, among them are people who now hold important positions in society.
Grass fires in the vicinity of the school
Brunswijk says that there had been grass fires in the vicinity of the school for several days before the devastating fire. The fire service reportedly responded several times to fight them.
On Wednesday, according to him, the fire service had to respond to Albina. Around the same time, a fire broke out in a wing of O.S. Wonoredjo. “Before the fire service returned, a large part of the building had burned down,” Brunswijk says.
Although Moengo has a fire station, the parliamentarian believes that additional precautionary measures are necessary because of the ongoing drought. Among other things, he advocates deploying more fire engines in order to respond more quickly to fire reports.
Brunswijk hopes there was no arson and urges a prompt police investigation into the cause of the fire.
Stadium as temporary emergency school
For Brunswijk, the continuation of education is currently a priority. He believes that it should first be examined whether the affected pupils can temporarily be accommodated at nearby schools.
If that proves impossible, an emergency facility should be arranged as quickly as possible, according to him. The Brunswijkstadion could be a suitable location for this, provided the site is set up responsibly for providing education.
“If necessary, the pupils can attend lessons in the stadium for one term, while the school is renovated in the meantime,” Brunswijk proposes.
The parliamentarian stresses that the pupils must not become victims of the fire. He therefore hopes that a solution will be found in the short term, so that education faces as little delay as possible.
