Schoolchildren in Remote KBB Mountains Smile After Visit from Regent Jeje
West Bandung Regency, West Java – Joyful smiles lit up the faces of pupils at SDN Giriasih in Karangtanjung Village, Cililin District, West Bandung Regency (KBB), when they met Regent Jeje Ritchie Ismail.
The regent’s visit to the school, located in a remote mountainous area, on Tuesday (12/5/2026), brought hope for improvements in facilities and access. There are 116 pupils from classes 1 to 6, hailing from three villages: Cililin Village, Karangtanjung Village, and Batulayang Village.
Every day, they must struggle by walking along quite distant footpaths with steep uphill and downhill terrain to go to and from school. “Alhamdulillah, the Regent has come here; it seems this is the first time anyone has visited my school,” said Putri Mutiara Andini (11), a fifth-grade pupil at SDN Giriasih.
Putri, a pupil from Cimuncang Hamlet in Cililin Village, along with her friends, must walk about 2 kilometres each day over fairly extreme terrain. Despite this, the pupils never complain as long as they can gain knowledge for their future.
The presence of the West Bandung Regent brought fresh hope for improvements in facilities and infrastructure. They shared their stories and requests for enhancements such as classrooms and bathing, washing, and toilet facilities (MCK).
“The hope is just for school improvements and perhaps more friendly roads. Now, even though we’re used to it, when it rains, we’re still scared,” she said.
The pupils’ struggle to walk to and from school impressed Jeje. He spoke directly with the teachers and pupils to hear their aspirations and inspected the school’s condition firsthand.
“The road conditions can be described as quite extreme, with cliffs on both sides, steep inclines, and the path being very narrow, only 1-2 metres wide. When I saw the school’s condition, it was also concerning, with difficulties in water supply, and many holes in the roof tiles, leaking,” said Jeje.
The West Bandung Regency government has promised to rehabilitate the damaged classrooms and build a new MCK at SDN Giriasih. “So, I have asked the Education Department to carry out repairs as soon as possible, because this is to support the learning enthusiasm of the pupils in Karangtanjung Village,” said Jeje.
Acting Head of the KBB Education Department, Edy Syafrudin, stated that his office would send a planning consultant to analyse the damage and necessary repairs at SDN Giriasih.
However, based on the preliminary assessment, only one classroom needs repair. “Later, the planning consultant will determine how many classrooms need rehabilitation. It looks like medium and light rehabilitation. The MCK will also be built,” said Edy.
He assured that the classroom rehabilitation and MCK construction at SDN Giriasih would be carried out this year with a budget allocation of around Rp 400 million. His office is also endeavouring to accommodate the school’s request to build a library.
“This year, insha’Allah, the budget is Rp 400 million for the classrooms and MCK. For the library, as per the school’s request, if the land is available, we’ll see about the budget,” said Edy.