Indonesia Rural School Infrastructure Crisis: Broken Classrooms, No Electricity, and Long Journeys to Learn

Jakarta, April 2025 – While Indonesia has made progress in expanding education access, thousands of rural schools still lack basic infrastructure. Crumbling buildings, no electricity, and unsafe sanitation. Creating a stark divide between urban and rural learning conditions. Reports from Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, UNICEF, and the World Bank reveal alarming gaps in school facilities, disproportionately affecting children in remote villages.

 

Current Conditions of Rural School Infrastructure

1. Dilapidated or Dangerous School Buildings

• Ministry of Education (2024): Over 40,000 schools (mostly in Papua, East Nusa Tenggara, and Kalimantan) require urgent repairs.
• Kompas Investigation (2024): In Sumba (NTT), students sit on cracked floors, and roofs leak during rains.
• World Bank (2023): 15% of rural schools have classrooms at risk of collapse.

2. No Electricity or Internet for Digital Learning

• UNICEF (2024): 1 in 3 rural schools lacks electricity, forcing teachers to use sunlight or kerosene lamps.
• Ministry of Education Data: Only 20% of village schools have internet, widening the digital divide.

3. Poor Sanitation & Clean Water Access

• Ministry of Health (2023): 60% of rural schools lack proper toilets, leading to high dropout rates among girls.
• WaterAid Report (2024): In West Sulawesi, students drink from unsafe wells, causing frequent illnesses.

4. Long and Hazardous Journeys to School

• SMERU Research Institute (2024): Children in remote Papua walk 2–3 hours daily through forests and rivers.
• KPAI (Child Protection Commission): At least 50 school-related travel deaths reported yearly due to floods or landslides.

 

Key Challenges

• Underfunding: Only 5% of education budget goes to infrastructure (Ministry of Finance, 2024).
• Climate Vulnerabilities: Rising floods and landslides damage schools yearly (BNPB, 2024).

The Path Forward

• Urgent Need: $500 million/year to fix rural schools (World Bank estimate).
• Smart Fixes:
  • Pre-fab modular schools for disaster-prone areas.
  • Solar microgrids to power classrooms.
  • Community monitoring to prevent fund leaks.