Child-Friendly Green School Brings Great Changes

Teng, teng, teng, teng... The sound of bells ringing signals the children to enter the classroom to start learning. The class began with greetings and prayers that the students recited with enthusiasm. One of the students is called Nuril, was very ready to start learning that day because she was studying at a Child Friendly Green School. 

Nuril is a bright student. She always ranks the first in every semester. Nuril's hobby is very unique. She likes to read the folktales of Sambas District in West Kalimantan. One of her favorite stories is entitled Datok Kullup the Guilty. Nuril is able to achieve very well because now she have a fun and meaningful learning. 

Before her school became a Child-Friendly Green School, she was not enthusiastic about going to school. "The one-way learning made me and my friends often feel bored in class," she says. Every day, Nuril's activities at school were almost the same: coming to school, going to class, sitting on a hard chair for hours without moving, listening to the teacher's lecture, and then going home. Nuril and her friends felt bored at school and lost their enthusiasm for learning. 

Teachers themselves felt stagnant in teaching. For years, the teachers at the school where Nuril studied were accustomed to applying the lecturing method to students in the classroom. Teachers did not realize that this method also made students less creative and less confident. 

Based on the quality of education and the deteriorating school environment, also on the hope of realizing meaningful learning, the Sambas District Education Office and WVI worked together once again on the Child Friendly Green School program. This program was already implemented in the 2010s and is currently being replicated in three primary schools. 

"After the Child-Friendly Green School, I became excited to go to school, my learning scores and my friends’ improved. Our teachers also became more creative. Our classroom walls are full of colorful decorations. We are also taught many things, which makes us comfortable at school," Nuril said enthusiastically. 

In addition to the impact on students, another positive change came from parents who began to care about the school. Every week, parents take the initiative to work together to improve school facilities so that the children can study more diligently.

"I used to only study in the classroom, listening to the teacher explain the lesson and then working on the questions in the task book. Now the teachers often invite me to study outside the classroom and get to know the nature," Nuril said. 

Author: Yasika Amanda (Freelance staf for Sambas Area Program, West Kalimantan) 

Editor: Mariana Kurniawati (Communication Executive)