I’ll never forget walking into my first classroom assignment in rural Central Java. The year was 2004, and I was brimming with enthusiasm as a newly certified teacher. That enthusiasm quickly collided with reality when I saw my classroom—crumbling walls, a leaking roof that turned the floor into a small pond during rainstorms, and desks so wobbly that students couldn’t write properly.
“How am I supposed to teach effectively in these conditions?” I wondered. Little did I know that this question would shape my entire career over the next two decades, leading me from frustrated classroom teacher to infrastructure improvement specialist working with schools across Indonesia.
The Hidden Impact of School Infrastructure
Like many teachers, I initially focused solely on curriculum and teaching methods. I believed that with enough passion and creativity, I could overcome any physical limitations of my classroom. That first year taught me otherwise.
During monsoon season, we lost nearly 20% of our instructional time to leaks and flooding. Students sitting near the walls developed respiratory issues from the mold. Attendance dropped dramatically on rainy days when parents kept children home rather than sending them to our waterlogged classroom.
The academic impact was undeniable. My students struggled to concentrate amid the discomfort and distractions. Their test scores lagged significantly behind those in the newer wing of the school, despite similar teaching approaches. This wasn’t just anecdotal—research consistently shows that poor physical learning environments directly impact educational outcomes.
What shocked me most wasn’t the condition of the school itself—I’d seen enough rural Indonesian schools to know these conditions were common. What surprised me was how normalized these problems had become. “It’s always been this way,” the principal told me when I raised concerns. “We’ve learned to work around it.”
I wasn’t willing to accept that answer.
Starting Small: Low-Cost, High-Impact Changes
With no budget and limited authority as a new teacher, I had to get creative. My first project was simple—organizing a community workday to repair the worst classroom leaks. I convinced a local hardware store to donate basic supplies, and parents with construction skills volunteered their time. Within a day, we had significantly reduced the leakage problem.
The impact was immediate and measurable. Attendance improved by 15% on rainy days. Students could focus on learning rather than dodging drips. Even more surprising was the boost in community engagement—parents who helped fix the roof became more invested in the school’s success.
This experience taught me a crucial lesson that would guide my future work: infrastructure improvements don’t always require massive budgets or government intervention. Strategic, targeted changes can yield significant benefits even with limited resources.
Over the next three years, I expanded these efforts—organizing painting days to brighten dingy classrooms, building simple bookshelves to create reading corners, and installing low-cost bamboo partitions to reduce noise between classrooms. Each improvement, though modest, enhanced the learning environment and demonstrated that positive change was possible.
I documented everything—before and after photos, attendance records, test scores, and student feedback. This evidence-based approach would prove invaluable in my later advocacy work.
Beyond Cosmetic Changes: Understanding Core Infrastructure Needs
While these early efforts made a difference, I gradually recognized that cosmetic improvements alone couldn’t address fundamental infrastructure deficiencies. After five years of teaching, I took a sabbatical to pursue a master’s degree in educational planning, focusing specifically on school infrastructure in developing regions.
My research revealed that Indonesian schools typically faced five core infrastructure challenges, each with direct implications for learning:
- Structural safety (protection from elements, building integrity)
- Basic services (clean water, functional toilets, reliable electricity)
- Environmental quality (lighting, ventilation, temperature control)
- Functional spaces (appropriate classroom size, specialized learning areas)
- Accessibility (accommodations for students with disabilities)
These findings aligned with international research showing that addressing these core areas yields the most significant educational returns on investment. A landmark study across Southeast Asia found that basic infrastructure improvements correlated with a 15-32% improvement in attendance and 8-18% improvement in academic performance.
When I returned to Indonesia, I joined the Ministry of Education’s School Improvement Program, where I could apply these insights on a broader scale. My first assignment was evaluating infrastructure needs across 200 schools in East Java.
The experience was eye-opening and sometimes heartbreaking. I visited schools where children studied in shifts because classrooms couldn’t accommodate all students simultaneously. I saw buildings with electrical wiring so dangerous that teachers unplugged everything during rainstorms to prevent fires. I met brilliant students who dropped out because walking two kilometers to use a toilet was too humiliating.
But I also discovered inspiring examples of innovation. A principal in Surabaya had partnered with a local technical college to design simple solar-powered ventilation systems. A school in Malang had converted shipping containers into functional science labs. These success stories became valuable models for my future work.
Prioritizing Health and Safety: The Foundation of Learning
Through my evaluation work, I became convinced that health and safety infrastructures should be our first priority—before technology, before specialized learning spaces, even before aesthetic improvements.
The reasoning was simple and data-supported: children cannot learn effectively when their basic physiological needs aren’t met. Schools with inadequate toilets reported significantly higher absenteeism, particularly among adolescent girls. Classrooms with poor ventilation showed higher rates of respiratory illness and lower cognitive performance, especially during hot months.
I developed a prioritization framework that we still use in infrastructure planning today:
- First address issues that pose immediate health or safety risks
- Then improve basic services essential for daily school operations
- Next enhance environmental factors affecting learning (light, air, acoustics)
- Finally develop specialized learning spaces and aesthetic improvements
This framework helped schools with limited budgets make strategic decisions about infrastructure investments. Rather than spreading resources thinly across many projects, we focused on completing high-priority improvements that would yield measurable benefits.
At one primary school in West Java, we canceled plans for a computer lab when we discovered that 40% of students were using unsafe drinking water from a contaminated well. By reallocating resources to install a water purification system, we reduced waterborne illness absences by 78% in the first semester—a far greater educational impact than the planned technology investment.
Creative Funding: Beyond Government Budgets
Perhaps the biggest misconception about school infrastructure is that meaningful improvements require large government allocations or international donor funding. While these sources are important, I’ve learned that successful infrastructure projects often combine multiple funding streams with community resources.
In my current role advising schools on infrastructure development, I encourage administrators to consider six potential resource channels:
- Government allocations (both education-specific and general development funds)
- Corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs from businesses operating in the community
- Parent-teacher association fundraising
- Community in-kind contributions (labor, materials, expertise)
- Alumni networks (particularly effective for secondary schools)
- International NGO partnerships (when appropriate for larger projects)
One of my favorite success stories came from a vocational high school in North Sumatra. The school needed specialized workshop equipment but had exhausted its government funding. Rather than abandoning the project, the principal identified local businesses that hired the school’s graduates and proposed a partnership: companies would donate equipment and materials while providing technical advisors, and in return, the school would tailor its training program to better prepare students for employment with these companies.
The resulting workshops cost the school almost nothing yet provided students with industry-standard training facilities. Graduation placement rates increased by 45% within two years, creating a sustainable feedback loop of support from employer partners.
This experience underscored another key principle: the most sustainable infrastructure improvements align with community priorities and create mutual benefits for schools and partners.
Beyond Buildings: Rethinking Learning Spaces
Around 2015, my understanding of school infrastructure began to evolve beyond traditional concerns about physical buildings. New research on learning environments suggested that how we configure spaces matters as much as the structural integrity of those spaces.
This shift in thinking led me to explore more flexible, learner-centered designs that could be implemented even in resource-constrained settings. Working with a network of innovative principals, we began experimenting with classroom configurations that supported different teaching approaches—small group collaboration, project-based learning, individual study, and traditional instruction.
At a middle school in Yogyakarta, we transformed a conventional classroom using locally-built, movable furniture that allowed quick reconfiguration for different activities. The total cost was less than $300, yet teacher surveys reported significantly higher student engagement and participation. Student assessment data showed particular improvement in collaborative problem-solving skills.
This experiment reinforced an important truth: some of the most impactful infrastructure improvements aren’t about major construction but about thoughtful design. By rethinking how we use existing spaces, schools can enhance learning with minimal financial investment.
I’ve since incorporated this principle into all our infrastructure planning, encouraging schools to consider spatial flexibility alongside traditional concerns about buildings and facilities.
Technology Infrastructure: Beyond Computer Labs
No discussion of modern school infrastructure would be complete without addressing technology. Yet I’ve seen countless well-intentioned technology initiatives fail because they focused on equipment without considering the supporting infrastructure.
Early in my career, I witnessed the arrival of a shipping container filled with donated computers at a rural school without reliable electricity. Within months, most sat unused due to power issues, maintenance challenges, and lack of technical support. The computer lab became an expensive storage room—a sadly common outcome in many Indonesian schools.
Through painful experience, I’ve developed a more holistic approach to technology infrastructure that considers five essential components:
- Physical space (appropriate layout, furniture, security)
- Power infrastructure (reliable electricity, proper wiring, surge protection)
- Connectivity (internet access with adequate bandwidth)
- Maintenance systems (technical support, repair protocols, replacement cycles)
- Human capacity (teacher training, student digital literacy, usage policies)
When all five components are addressed, technology investments yield significant educational returns. When any component is neglected, expensive equipment often goes unutilized.
At a network of schools in East Kalimantan, we implemented this holistic approach with remarkable results. Rather than creating conventional computer labs, we developed distributed technology access points throughout each school—charging stations in secure cabinets, wireless access points in strategic locations, and flexible seating areas where students could use devices.
The distributed approach cost 40% less than traditional computer labs while increasing actual technology usage by over 60%. More importantly, it integrated technology into daily learning rather than isolating it as a special activity separate from regular instruction.
Looking Forward: Sustainable and Resilient School Infrastructure
As I reflect on nearly two decades working with school infrastructure, I’m increasingly focused on sustainability and resilience in the face of climate change and resource constraints. Indonesia’s 17,000 islands face diverse environmental challenges—from rising sea levels to increased storm intensity to water scarcity. Our school infrastructure must evolve to address these realities.
In recent years, I’ve collaborated with environmental engineers to develop school design adaptations for different risk profiles. In flood-prone areas of Jakarta, we’ve implemented elevated foundations and water-resistant building materials. In regions facing water scarcity, we’ve installed rainwater harvesting systems that supply school needs while serving as teaching tools about conservation.
These approaches represent a fundamental shift in how we conceptualize school infrastructure—not just as physical facilities but as systems that must function reliably under changing conditions. The most successful designs integrate environmental sustainability with educational purposes, using infrastructure challenges as opportunities for practical learning.
A school in Bali exemplifies this integrated approach. Facing chronic water shortages, the school installed a comprehensive water management system including rainwater harvesting, greywater recycling, and a constructed wetland for natural filtration. Beyond solving the water supply problem, the system became an integral part of the science curriculum, with students monitoring water quality and studying ecological principles through direct observation.
This example highlights what I believe is the future of school infrastructure—designs that simultaneously address practical needs, environmental challenges, and educational objectives. When infrastructure itself becomes a learning tool, we maximize the return on our investments.
Conclusion: A Call to Action
As I look back on my journey from that leaking classroom in Central Java to my current work advising on infrastructure improvements nationwide, I’m struck by how much has changed—and how much remains to be done.
Indonesia has made significant progress in expanding school access, but quality remains uneven. Millions of students still study in substandard conditions that undermine their learning potential. The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed and exacerbated infrastructure inequities, particularly regarding sanitation facilities and technology access.
Yet I remain fundamentally optimistic. Throughout my career, I’ve witnessed remarkable transformations achieved through community engagement, strategic prioritization, and creative resource mobilization. I’ve seen how relatively modest infrastructure improvements can yield significant educational benefits when thoughtfully implemented.
To fellow educators, administrators, and policymakers reading this, I offer three core principles that have guided my most successful projects:
- Start with evidence, not assumptions. Assess your specific infrastructure challenges and their impact on learning before determining solutions.
- Prioritize strategically based on health, safety, and educational impact rather than spreading resources thinly across many projects.
- Engage your community not just as funding sources but as essential partners in creating and maintaining improved learning environments.
School infrastructure may not be the most glamorous topic in education, but its impact on learning is profound and well-documented. When we improve the physical conditions of our schools, we demonstrate our commitment to educational quality and our respect for the dignity of every student and teacher.
That leaking classroom where I began my career no longer exists. In its place stands a bright, well-ventilated learning space where students can focus on their education without physical discomfort or health risks. My hope is that every Indonesian student will soon learn in similarly supportive environments—not as a luxury, but as the basic foundation for educational quality that every child deserves.
