Primary School Building at Gadung Sari, Tabanan Remains Severely Damaged for Three Years as Students Share Classrooms

Students at State Primary School (SD) 1 Gadung Sari, East Selemadeg Subdistrict, must share classroom space owing to severe damage to a building containing three classrooms that has remained unrepaired since 2022.

School Principal I Nyoman Widana, speaking at the school on Monday, 2 March 2026, explained that the damage to the southern building resulted from a natural disaster in 2022. “At that time, heavy rain accompanied by strong winds caused the building’s roof to collapse. As a result, we have been forced to combine student learning activities in a single room,” Widana stated.

He elaborated that classes II through VI study in one room separated only by a partition, whilst class I uses a partitioned teacher’s room. This arrangement has been accepted by parents.

The three classrooms used for teaching are also in moderate condition of disrepair, with walls and ceilings containing holes. “We have a total of 44 students from three communities—Banjar Cepaka, Banjar Munduk Pakel, and Banjar Nyatnyatan—and seven teachers,” he added.

Widana attributed the prolonged delay in repairs to the school’s land having previously held customary ownership status, which hindered government assistance due to administrative complications. The school was constructed on 1 August 1951.

The situation was subsequently reported to Tabanan Regency Government, which responded promptly. School officials, accompanied by the East Selemadeg Subdistrict Head, the Gadung Sari Village Chief, and the Customary Head of Cepaka, held meetings to discuss transferring the land status to government ownership. “We have received and signed the certificate witnessed by the village chief and customary officials, allowing the government to allocate funds for school repairs,” Widana explained.

He noted that should the school be relocated or rebuilt elsewhere in the future, the land status would revert to customary ownership.

Widana added that the Tabanan Regency Education Office Head visited the school approximately one week prior. Following that visit, repairs are scheduled to commence in April 2026. “The plan is for repairs to begin in April,” he concluded.