253 Schools Damaged by NTT Earthquake: How the Government is Saving Learning
Hundreds of educational institutions in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) were affected by the earthquake that occurred on 15 August 2026. The government is now moving to ensure that school damage does not halt teaching and learning activities.
The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) is preparing 50 emergency classroom tents to maintain the continuity of learning while ensuring the safety of students and teachers.
Based on data as of 16 August 2026, 253 educational units were recorded as affected by the earthquake. The breakdown includes 199 units at the PAUD/TK, primary, junior high, and SKB levels under regency authority, and 54 units at the SMA/SMK/SLB levels under provincial authority.
This figure includes New Classrooms resulting from the 2026 Revitalisation programme, such as SDN Wae Wulan and SDI Lengko Randang.
The Minister of Basic and Secondary Education, Abdul Mu’ti, stated that the safety of the school community is the primary concern in handling the earthquake’s impact.
“The safety of the school community is the priority, and the educational recovery process will be supervised alongside local governments until learning can resume safely and comfortably,” he said on Friday, 4 September 2026.
Kemendikdasmen is currently working to address the earthquake’s impact across seven regencies on Flores Island, namely Ngada, Nagekeo, Ende, Manggarai, East Manggarai, West Manggarai, and Sikka.
Among the affected areas, East Manggarai Regency has recorded the highest number of damaged educational units, with 104 institutions affected across various levels. Meanwhile, West Manggarai Regency has 52 affected educational units.
In East Manggarai, 51 affected units consist of 33 primary schools and 18 junior high/MTs schools.
The impact of the earthquake was also felt directly by the school community. Tragically, the disaster caused the deaths of three individuals within the school environment.
“In addition to building damage, the earthquake disaster also claimed lives within the school community, namely two students and one teacher,” he added.
To prevent risks to students and teachers, Kemendikdasmen has directed schools to temporarily suspend learning in damaged classrooms. Learning activities may then be moved to safe rooms, learning tents, or temporarily suspended depending on the specific conditions of each region.
As an immediate measure, Kemendikdasmen is preparing 50 emergency classroom tents, which are being dispatched via two expedition clusters.