Pertamina emergency tents restore morning classes for SMPN 19 Bengkulu students

Four emergency classroom tents provided by Pertamina Patra Niaga through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme have enabled students of SMP Negeri 19 Bengkulu City to resume learning after the school was hit by a fire on 24 July 2026.

“Alhamdulillah, with Pertamina’s assistance, everything is complete, from chairs and tents to whiteboards and cooling blowers. So the children can now all study in the morning,” said Ilham Putra, Head of the Bengkulu City Education and Culture Office, in Bengkulu on Wednesday.

Ilham said the fire that struck SMP Negeri 19 destroyed eight rooms, including six classrooms. The situation had forced the school to split teaching and learning activities into two sessions, morning and afternoon.

With the availability of five emergency classroom tents, student learning has resumed in the morning. This has allowed teaching and learning activities to run more effectively, even though they are temporarily being held in emergency rooms.

“The learning process is now back to normal, as it was before, although it is taking place in emergency classrooms,” he said.

Ilham said the facilities available in the emergency classrooms have also been prepared to support the students’ learning process. In addition to the tents, the assistance includes desks and chairs, whiteboards and blowers to support learning comfort.

According to him, the emergency classrooms serve as a temporary solution while the school awaits the rebuilding of the eight burned classrooms. The government has ensured that the learning process continues without having to return to splitting learning time between morning and afternoon.

Ilham said SMP Negeri 19 is now also entering the preparation stage for rebuilding the burned classrooms through a revitalisation programme. The construction will be carried out on a self-managed basis and is targeted to begin soon.

“Because it is self-managed and involves the committee chairman as well as parents and guardians of students at SMP Negeri 19,” he said.

The rebuilding of the classrooms is targeted for completion within 120 days. As a result, the emergency classrooms are expected to remain in use until the permanent facilities are finished around December 2026.