3,700 Schools Affected by Disasters in Sumatra: Government Steps

Chairman of the Task Force for Accelerating Rehabilitation and Reconstruction after Disasters in Sumatra, Tito Karnavian, said thousands of educational facilities were affected by hydrometeorological disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. Damaged buildings range from PAUD to SMA and will be repaired soon. ‘Indeed, quite a lot were affected, including PAUD, TK, SD, SMP, SMA. This is being coordinated and we are collecting data from regional governments,’ Tito said in a written statement on Sunday, 8 March 2026. He explained the government has classified the level of damage from light, moderate to severe, and buildings that are completely lost. Repairs will be carried out gradually with a priority scale. ‘Those damaged light, moderate and heavy will be repaired gradually with priority,’ he added.

Nevertheless, the government ensures learning activities continue. Schools with light and moderate damage will remain in operation while repairs take place. ‘But the main thing is education must continue. So those with light and moderate damage will be repaired while school activities continue,’ Tito said.

Meanwhile, schools with severe damage are temporarily using emergency facilities, such as learning tents provided by the government in cooperation with various ministries. ‘For those severely damaged, some are still learning in tents. There are tents from BNPB and the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikdasmen) equipped with other facilities,’ he said.

Tito stated that overall teaching and learning processes in disaster-affected areas are almost all back to normal, though not yet ideal. ‘The learning process is almost 100% back in operation, but some areas are not yet optimal or ideal,’ he said.

According to preliminary data, around 3,700 educational units were affected by the disaster and require further handling. ‘There are roughly 3,700 in the three provinces that must be addressed, and that will take time,’ Tito said.

He explained that public schools such as PAUD, TK, SD, SMP, up to SMA are coordinated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikdasmen). Meanwhile madrasah and pesantren data collection is the responsibility of the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag). ‘For TK, SD, SMP, it’s coordinated by Kemendikdasmen. While madrasah and pondok pesantren are the responsibility of Kemenag for data collection,’ Tito said.

During the PRR Task Force visit to Pidie Jaya, present were Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf, Directorate General of Regional Administration Safrizal ZA, Aceh Vice Governor Fadhlullah, Pidie Jaya Regent Sibral Malasyi, and Acting President Director of PT Pos Indonesia Haris.