School Sealed Due To Land Dispute, Pamekasan Rekkerek Elementary School Children Miserably Have To Study At Residents' Homes

The owner of the land occupied by SDN Rekkerek IV, Pamekasan, East Java, takes a photo near the sealed school door. (Zali)

PAMEKASAN - Teaching and learning activities (KBM) at a public elementary school (SDN) in Pamekasan Regency, East Java, were disrupted due to a dispute over the land occupied by the school building.

"The disrupted KBM is at SDN IV Rekkerek, Palengaan District, Pamekasan," said Head of the Pamekasan Education and Culture Office (Disdikbud), Akhmad Zaini, as reported by ANTARA, Sunday, July 24.

Teaching and learning activities at the school were disrupted after the land owner, Zali sealed the school on July 14, 2022.

The reason is because until now the Pamekasan Regency Government has not provided compensation for his land occupied by SDN Rekkerek IV.

Previously, Zali said, the case had actually been communicated with the Pamekasan Regency Government since 2004.

At that time, he had met the Regent of Pamekasan Kholilurrahman and explained about the ownership of his land which was occupied by SDN Rekkerek IV.

The regent then instructs the village officials to exchange bolsters with the village treasury land.

"Then in 2009 we signed," he said.

However, in subsequent developments, the village treasury land which was exchanged for Zali's land was eventually taken back by the local village apparatus, because it was occupied by an early childhood education institution (PAUD). Because of that, Zali then sealed the door of the Rekkerek IV Elementary School.

As a result of this sealing action, teaching and learning activities were temporarily forced to stay in one of the residents' houses.

"We are still trying to make this disrupted learning activity complete by communicating with the parties, both land owners, community leaders and members of the legislature from Proppo District," said Head of Disdikbud Pamekasan Regency Akhmad Zaini.

The case of an educational institution that stands on privately owned land, as in SDN Rekkerek IV, Palengaan District, is part of a problematic educational area.

According to data from the Pamekasan Regency Education and Culture Office, 20 units of educational land are still privately owned in Pamekasan. All in the name of private property residents.