Australian Ambassador launches school, university projects

JAKARTA : The Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer, officially opened Tuesday the Suak Timah Integrated Madrasah in Aceh.

The Australian government has provided A$2.65 million (US$2.18 million) through the Australia Indonesia Partnership for Reconstruction and Development (AIPRD) to support the Islamic school project in Sama Tiga subdistrict, Meulaboh, a release from the Embassy revealed.

The release also said the school would provide elementary and high school education in the area which was devastated by tsunami several years ago.

The informal community leader of Sama Tiga sub-district, Tgk H. Abdullah Agam said the top class school would become a place of quality education for the children, as well as a place for the community to gather.

He said the community wanted to give their children a new start after the tsunami by providing them a school and a brighter future through quality education.

During his visit, Ambassador Farmer also launched two program assistances for Syah Kuala university; a A$3 million- assistance for partnership program to revitalize research capacity in the faculty of Social Sciences and a A$1.48 million-assistance to establish the Problem Based Learning Centre at the Faculty of Medicine.

Farmer said the need to upgrade medical and nursing training facilities was made a priority immediately after the tsunami.

“This centre will go a long way to ensuring sustainable future improvement to health services in Aceh," he said.

Australia has already allocated more than A$250 million to relief and reconstruction efforts in Aceh and North Sumatra.