Five Classrooms at SMKN 1 Gerung at Risk of Collapse

Five classrooms at SMKN 1 Gerung in West Lombok have been classified as severely damaged and at risk of collapse. The school is urging the West Nusa Tenggara provincial government to carry out repairs immediately for the safety of students during teaching and learning activities.

“A damage assessment has been conducted by a consultant and the classrooms fall into the severely damaged category,” said SMKN 1 Gerung head Erni Zuhara on Wednesday (19/8/2026).

Erni said the five classrooms are still being used for teaching year 10 students, including those in the culinary and food preparation programmes. She said the condition of the classrooms has left students and teachers feeling anxious.

“Now vocational schools are entrusted with creating a workforce that is ready for employment. With classrooms in this condition, learning is less comfortable and cannot be delivered to the children optimally,” Erni said.

Erni said she has submitted requests for building repairs to the provincial government over the past three years. Two years ago, the school also wrote to the provincial Public Works and Spatial Planning Agency to request an assessment of the building’s condition. However, no follow-up has been made to date.

“For the past three years we have submitted proposals requesting repairs to the provincial government. For the past two years we have also written to the provincial Public Works and Spatial Planning Agency asking for help in assessing the damage. Hopefully it will be responded to soon,” she said.

Erni said she faces a dilemma if the five classrooms must be sealed off because they are deemed dangerous, as SMKN 1 Gerung has been short of classrooms from the outset.

“This requires immediate handling because it concerns the safety of our children who are learning. We are also constrained if the classrooms are sealed. Where would we place the children to study, when we have been short of classrooms from the beginning,” she concluded.