Home Affairs Minister: 99 Schools Affected by Sumatra Disasters Still Using Emergency Classrooms

Jakarta (ANTARA) — Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian said 99 of the 4,922 educational institutions affected by disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra are still using emergency classrooms, although teaching and learning have generally resumed in the areas concerned.

“Most have returned to their original schools, but 99 are still in emergency schools. This is now a focus for the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education,” Tito said after a co-ordination meeting on accelerating post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction in Sumatra in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He said the government, through the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, was continuing to restore educational facilities, either through repairs carried out directly by schools or in co-operation with the Ministry of Public Works and the Indonesian Army.

Tito added that the government aimed to speed up rehabilitation and reconstruction in affected areas, supported by budgets approved for ministries and agencies.

The Home Affairs Minister said any outstanding funding needs could be proposed for the following year so that unfinished recovery work could continue.

“As well as educational facilities, the government is also dealing with damage to basic infrastructure, including roads and bridges, and health facilities in the three affected provinces,” Tito said.

He stressed that most general hospitals and community health centres had resumed operations. However, six auxiliary community health centres in North Sumatra still needed repairs because they had been damaged or destroyed by the disasters.

The government also faces further flooding and landslides, which have again damaged infrastructure and slowed the recovery process.

Tito hoped the relevant ministries and agencies would speed up the work and complete it by 31 December 2026, enabling affected residents to resume their normal activities.