Accelerating Renovation of Disaster-Affected School Facilities to Maintain Students' Learning Enthusiasm

Hydro-meteorological disasters that struck Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra at the end of last year also affected educational facilities in the three provinces. Data from the Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Task Force (Satgas PRR) records 4,922 affected educational facilities.

Aceh is the region with the highest number of affected educational facilities, with 3,120 units. In North Sumatra, there are 1,149 affected units. Meanwhile, West Sumatra recorded 653 affected units. Nevertheless, the teaching and learning process in the three provinces is now running at 100%.

Most classrooms have been successfully restored by Satgas PRR. Aceh recorded 3,046 units of educational facilities that have resumed learning in their original classrooms. In North Sumatra, 1,133 units of educational facilities have also resumed learning in original classrooms. West Sumatra recorded 640 units of educational facilities that have returned to learning in original classrooms.

The Post-Disaster Acceleration Task Force for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction in Sumatra (Satgas PRR) is also continuing to restore classrooms so that decent educational facilities can maintain students’ learning enthusiasm, who are still conducting learning in tents, emergency classes, or borrowing other schools.

Head of Satgas PRR Tito Karnavian acknowledged that there are still less-than-ideal conditions experienced by students for learning. He revealed that efforts to restore educational facilities are continuously carried out by the Minister of Basic and Secondary Education Abdul Mu’ti. In fact, there is already a cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education and parties that will renovate educational facilities.

“The Minister of Basic and Secondary Education stated that more than 1,000 educational facilities already have cooperation agreements for repairs. However, he uses a priority scale, with the severely damaged ones done first,” said Tito in a written statement on Tuesday (31/3/2026).

On the other hand, the enthusiasm to continue learning is also expressed by students in the affected areas. One of them is Nuraiche, a student at SMA Negeri 2 Meureudu, Pidie Jaya. Even though her school is still affected by the disaster, the 12th-grade student claims to remain enthusiastic about returning to school. She and her friends are now focused on preparing for the Class End Examination (UKA) scheduled for 13 April.

“We are still studying as usual because we also have exams,” said Nuraiche.

Deputy Principal for Curriculum Affairs Hasanah explained that even in emergency conditions, exam preparations are still ongoing. A total of 92 12th-grade students will take the exam covering 14 subjects. The school has provided exam grids to students as a study guide. In addition, intensive material discussions are conducted with the help of class guardians and additional tutoring programmes.

“We have held tutoring sessions so that students’ preparations are more optimal,” said Hasanah.

The limited conditions do not become an obstacle for the students to continue learning. Their determination to graduate becomes the main motivation to keep struggling, proving that the spirit of education remains alive even in the midst of disaster.