His School is Still a Place of Refuge, Hundreds of Students at SMAN 1 Tukka Tapteng Study in Emergency Tent

JAKARTA - Hundreds of students at Tukka State High School 1, Central Tapanuli Regency (Tapteng), North Sumatra (North Sumatra), were forced to study in emergency tents because their school buildings were used as shelters for survivors of the flash flood and landslide disasters in late November 2026.

"The 27 classrooms in this school are already occupied by refugees so that students make adjustments," said the Head of Tukka State High School 1, Faisal Napitupulu in Tukka, Tuesday, quoted by Antara.

According to him, there are a total of 940 students divided into 27 study groups who study at SMA Negeri 1 Tukka.

He added that learning activities at this school began on January 5, 2025 and at that time only a portion of students were attending in-person classes.

Then with the increase in the number of tents, the number of students who study in tents was added to four classes.

"They study from 08.00 WIB to 10.00 WIB and indeed the children complain about the hot conditions inside the tent," he said.

According to him, children who study in schools are divided and they attend classes three times a week and the rest attend distance learning online. So far everything has gone well and the motivation of children to study is quite high.

Faisal told that when the flash flood occurred, he was able to visit the school three days after the incident.

"When he came, the refugees were already at the location and occupied the existing classrooms. "This is the government's initiative to make the location of the refugees because their houses have been lost in the disaster," he said.

Even now, there are TNI personnel who set up a post around the school and they help meet the needs of the community by opening a public kitchen.

"We ensure that the learning process goes well in the midst of this recovery process," he said.

Meanwhile, a student in grade 12 of SMA Negeri 1 Tukka, Magfiroh Penggabean said that his family's house was also affected by the flood and currently he was following the schedule. "We go to school three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday," he said.

He understands the existing conditions and feels calm even though he is studying in an emergency tent. "The problem is just hot, but because I'm with my friends I'm still excited to go to school," he said.