Viral: Bamboo-Walled Primary School in East Nusa Tenggara Without Electricity Sent a Smart TV
The condition of the Mboeng State Primary School (SDN) in Kaju Wangi Village, Elar District, East Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), is deeply concerning. The building, dominated by bamboo materials, could be described as nearly collapsing. Yet the school instead received assistance in the form of a touch-screen smart television, even though electricity has yet to reach the village.
This was shared by Alwi Johan on the TikTok account @alwijo. Alwi, who visited the school in person, describes himself as a socio-traveller who journeys across Indonesia to highlight the problems it faces.
Alwi recounted that the school’s classrooms have bamboo walls and dirt floors. The bamboo walls are already riddled with holes in their corners. Since it was established in 2008, the dilapidated building has never been renovated.
Beyond highlighting the school building, which he said was close to collapse, Alwi also criticised the government’s response to the school’s condition. He was incensed that instead of repairing the rundown structure, the government supplied a large touch-screen smart TV.
“Can you imagine — in a school that is almost collapsing, our government instead provides a touch-screen TV,” Alwi said in his post.
The problem does not end there. The touch-screen TV cannot be used because the village has no electricity supply. The school once tried using a diesel generator, but the television would not turn on as it requires a great deal of power.
The touch-screen TV, which bears the words “Merah Putih” at its base, now sits idle and unusable in the school’s dilapidated staff room.
“This school building is truly saddening. The walls are made of bamboo. The floors are dirt, and look — the walls have holes in every corner. Since it was built in 2008, this primary school has never been renovated at all,” Alwi said.
In his view, anyone should know that the solution for the school is to repair the building, not to send sophisticated equipment.
“The electricity isn’t there yet, but a TV this size is already sitting pretty in the staff room,” Alwi quipped.
Selviana Lantuk, a teacher at SDN Mboeng, confirmed Alwi’s account of the school building’s condition. “Yes, that’s real,” Selviana said on Monday (7/9/2026) evening.
Selviana also confirmed that the touch-screen TV donated to SDN Mboeng could not be used because there is no electricity. The teachers had tried to switch the television on using a generator, but it would not work as it requires more power.
“Oh dear, yes, it’s true. We’ve been using a generator all this time, but the output simply isn’t enough, so the touch-screen TV can’t be used,” Selviana explained.