TULUNGAGUNG – The Tulungagung administration has prioritized reconstruction plans for SDN 1 Babadan after two damaged classrooms forced dozens of students to study in a prayer room.
The damaged building stands in Karangrejo District, East Java. Local officials said the condition of the classrooms now threatens the safety of students and teachers.
Acting Tulungagung Regent Ahmad Baharudin confirmed that regional authorities had identified the damage and started preparing a rebuilding plan.
Officials from the local government have also begun calculating the budget needed for the reconstruction project.
“We already identified the damage, and we instructed the technical agency to calculate the funding needed for rebuilding,” Baharudin said on Tuesday.
The government has not announced the total reconstruction cost. Authorities are still waiting for technical assessments from field officers before finalizing the budget plan.
“We are still calculating the total needs before allocating the budget,” Baharudin added.
The local administration placed the damaged school building on its priority infrastructure list. Officials want to begin repairs quickly because the classrooms no longer provide a safe learning environment.
Baharudin stressed that the government would immediately handle the damaged structure to prevent greater risks for students and school staff.
Earlier reports showed that two classrooms used by fifth-grade and sixth-grade students suffered severe cracks and floor collapse.
School officials suspect the damage began after a water drainage channel behind the building collapsed. The condition reportedly weakened the soil structure beneath the classrooms over time.
The damage forced 63 students to leave their classrooms and continue lessons in a nearby prayer room and several temporary spaces inside the school area.
Teachers and school administrators moved the students to safer locations to avoid accidents during daily learning activities.
School representatives said the building had never received major renovations since its construction around 2008.
Over the years, the structure gradually weakened before parts of the building finally sank in recent months.
The case has raised concerns about aging school infrastructure in several parts of Tulungagung Regency. Local residents and parents have urged the government to speed up reconstruction work to ensure students can return to proper classrooms.
Authorities have not confirmed when construction will begin. However, officials said they would prioritize the rebuilding process after the budget calculation and technical review finish.