Jakarta, August 16, 2026 — The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) moved quickly to address the impact of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake in the Flores Sea that rocked the East Nusa Tenggara region on August 15, 2026. The earthquake caused damage to educational facilities in seven districts on Flores Island, namely Ngada, Nagekeo, Ende, Manggarai, East Manggarai, West Manggarai, and Sikka.
As of August 16, 2026, 253 educational institutions were affected, consisting of 199 units at the PAUD/TK, SD, SMP, and SKB levels (regency-controlled) and 54 units at the SMA/SMK/SLB levels (provincial-controlled). This number includes new classrooms resulting from the 2026 Revitalization, such as SDN Wae Wulan and SDI Lengko Randang. The Education Quality Assurance Center (BPMP) and the Teacher and Education Personnel Center (BGTK), as disaster management hubs in the field, continue to collect data and assess the damage.
East Manggarai Regency was the worst-hit area. A total of 104 educational institutions at various levels were affected, followed by 52 in East Manggarai Regency. In East Manggarai, 51 educational institutions were affected, consisting of 33 elementary schools and 18 junior high schools/Islamic junior high schools. In addition to building damage, the earthquake also claimed the lives of two students and one teacher within the educational institutions.
The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education (Mendikdasmen), Abdul Mu'ti, expressed his condolences and deep concern over this tragedy. He has communicated with the Governor of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) to ensure data collection and targeted aid distribution. "The safety of school residents is a priority, and we will oversee the educational recovery process with the local government until learning can resume safely and comfortably," he explained in Jakarta (August 16).
As a rapid response to maintain learning continuity while prioritizing the safety of school residents, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikbud) prepared 50 Emergency Classroom tents, which were deployed through two expedition clusters. The first cluster sent 30 tents from storage facilities in Jakarta and Yogyakarta to Labuan Bajo Port. The shipment also included 1,000 Family Kit packages, 200 general School Kit packages, and 2,000 high school/vocational school school kit packages to support the needs of school residents in Manggarai, East Manggarai, and West Manggarai Regencies.
The aid will depart from Surabaya on August 20, 2026 using KM Dharma Rucitra 7 and is scheduled to arrive in Labuan Bajo on August 22, 2026. The Ministry of Education and Culture targets the installation of tents starting August 23, 2026. The plan is for BGTK NTT to receive and manage the aid at the Ministry of Education and Culture Post, Office of Education, Youth and Sports of West Manggarai Regency, Labuan Bajo.
Meanwhile, the second cluster sent 20 tents from the storage of the Center for the Development of Vocational Education Quality Assurance in the Automotive and Electronics Sector (BBPPMPV BOE) Malang to Ende Port to support schools in the Ende, Ngada, Sikka, and Nagekeo areas. The shipment used the KM Dharma Rucitra 8 from Surabaya on August 21, 2026. BPMP NTT will receive the aid at the Cluster 2 Post in SKB Ende as a logistics transit point before distributing it to the target areas. The Directorate of Special Education and Special Service Education (PKPLK) team under the coordination of the Disaster Safe Education Unit (SPAB) Team will oversee the delivery of aid, distribution, and installation of emergency tents in the field.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has directed educational units to temporarily suspend learning in damaged classrooms and relocate activities to safe spaces, learning tents, or temporarily suspend learning, depending on local conditions. The Ministry is also preparing psychosocial support through a collaboration with the Indonesian Psychological Association (HIMPSI). These services will be implemented immediately after the preliminary team confirms the field conditions. The next step is to encourage the cleaning of schools that are still safe to use and coordinate the use of additional budgets for facilities and school kits .
In addition to physical assistance, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is preparing connectivity support via Starlink for areas experiencing power and communication network disruptions. Cross-directorate teams within the Ministry have also begun fieldwork to expedite assessments, verify damage, and coordinate the restoration of educational services.
Regarding the handling of physical damage, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education also continues to expedite the identification of damaged schools based on initial data that will be collected by the Education Unit Revitalization Team until August 18, 2026. Field verification and handling through a cooperation agreement (PKS) are targeted to take place the following week.*** (Author: Denty/Documentation: Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education SPAB Team)
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