Heartbreaking! 5 Classrooms at SDN Kepek 1 in Gunungkidul Damaged, Pupils Study in Prayer Hall
At least five out of 11 rooms at SDN Kepek 1, Bulurejo, Kepek, Saptosari, Gunungkidul, are severely damaged. Even second-grade pupils have been forced to attend lessons in a prayer hall.
Observations by detikJogja revealed that from outside the school, the roof of one room at SDN Kepek 1 lacks tiles. Upon closer inspection, that room is the school library.
Additionally, three classrooms in a row with the library appear unused for teaching activities. It turns out these three rooms have damage to their ceilings.
Not only that, there is also one classroom that recently suffered damage. That room is the sixth-grade classroom, which has severe roof damage.
The head of SDN Kepek 1, Marsum, stated that he has only been in the position since October 2025. According to him, at that time, there were already four damaged rooms.
“So there are 11 rooms here, and five of them are severely damaged to the point they cannot be used. When I became headmaster, there were four damaged rooms: three classrooms and one library,” he told reporters at SDN Kepek 1, Bulurejo, Kepek, Saptosari, Gunungkidul, on Friday (17/4/2026).
In detail, the three classrooms have been damaged for the past three years. Meanwhile, the library has been damaged for the past year.
“Then in February 2025, the sixth-grade classroom roof was damaged, with tiles falling into the classroom. Fortunately, it happened at night, so no pupils were harmed,” he said.
Second-Grade Pupils Study in Prayer Hall
As a result, the five rooms at SDN Kepek 1 remain unusable to this day. Even second-grade pupils have had to move their learning locations because the second-grade classroom is now used by sixth graders.
“The sixth grade cannot be used because it was damaged last February, so sixth grade moved to second grade’s room, and second grade moved to the prayer hall. Those who moved to the prayer hall started after Eid,” he said.
Regarding the cause of the damage to the five rooms, Marsum attributed it to natural factors. SDN Kepek 1 was established in 1971, and currently has a total of 148 pupils.
“The damage is caused by heavy rain, and this area is close to the beach, which can trigger corrosion. Especially for the sixth-grade room, which uses a light steel roof structure,” he said.
Marsum has reported the damage to the Gunungkidul District Education Office (Disdik). However, there has been no follow-up from Disdik Gunungkidul so far.
“The damage to the five rooms has been reported to the Education Office, but there has been no follow-up yet. Hopefully, the rooms can be repaired soon so the children can learn comfortably,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Head of Disdik Gunungkidul, Nunuk Setyowati, admitted to being aware of the information. In fact, Nunuk has already visited SDN Kepek 1.
“Earlier I went to the location, and it turns out the problem is with the dapodik data (basic education data). The school has not updated dapodik for several years, and in dapodik, the school’s damage is only listed as 21 percent,” she said.
Therefore, Nunuk has asked the headmaster to immediately update the dapodik. Additionally, Nunuk has requested that the headmaster prepare a proposal for the repairs to SDN Kepek 1.
“The headmaster is new, and I have asked him to immediately update dapodik and prepare a proposal for repairs, then submit it to the office (Disdik Gunungkidul),” she said.