Restoring Education After Earthquakes: A Lifeline for Children and a Catalyst for Recovery

Lessons Sharing from Indonesia for Myanmar and the Region

By Avianto Amri^[1], Yusra Tebe^[2]

 

In the aftermath of a major earthquake, priorities often focus on saving lives — providing food, water, shelter, and medical care. Yet one essential sector is often sidelined: education.

Experience from Indonesia — a country with decades of exposure to large-scale earthquakes — shows that restoring education is not a secondary task. It is a life-sustaining intervention, critical not only for children’s well-being, but for the recovery of families and the rebuilding of communities.

Why Education Must Be Part of the Immediate Response

 

Disasters displace children from their homes, routines, and sense of safety. Schools can quickly become a sanctuary for recovery — providing structure, social support, and access to essential services. More than just a place of learning, schools in post-disaster settings become platforms for:

• Mentalh Health and Psychosocial support
• Protection against child labor, exploitation, violence, and early marriage
• Access to health, food, and hygiene education and services
• Introducing disaster preparedness and risk reduction education to anticipate secondary hazards

Crucially, restoring education also reduces strain on parents, allowing them to focus on rebuilding their homes, accessing assistance, and recovering livelihoods. Education is not a distraction from emergency response — it is a foundation of it.

Lessons from Indonesia’s Earthquake Experiences

• Aceh (2004): More than 2,000 school affected (Ministry of Education, 2018). The tsunami prompted the integration of disaster education into curricula. Schools became hubs of preparedness, not just education.
• Yogyakarta (2006): Over 2,900 schools were damaged or destroyed More than 2,000 school affected (Ministry of Education, 2018). The immediate prioritization of temporary learning spaces allowed students to resume education within weeks, helping families return to a sense of normalcy.
• Central Sulawesi (2018): Over 1,299 school affected (Ministry of Education, 2018). Temporary classrooms were established within days using tents and public buildings. Programs also focused on teacher resilience and psychosocial support, recognizing educators as front-liners in emotional recovery.
• Cianjur (2022): More than 700 school affected (Ministry of Education, 2018). Collaboration between national and local government, CSOs, and private actors enabled the quick setup of temporary schools, minimizing prolonged learning disruptions for thousands of children.

These examples illustrate that when education is treated as a core component of emergency response — not as recovery “phase two” — it can have lifesaving, long-term impact.

Education in Emergencies: What Works

From Indonesia’s experience, several key practices emerge:

1. Act Fast, Even if Imperfect: Learning doesn’t have to wait for new buildings. Tents, open spaces, and public halls can serve as classrooms in the interim.
2. Engage Teachers Early: Teachers need support too — emotionally and logistically — so they can be strong pillars for their students.
3. Integrate DRR into Curriculum: Schools should teach preparedness, not just math. In Aceh and other areas, this led to better outcomes in future disasters.
4. Collaborate Across Sectors: National governments set the framework, but CSOs, education NGOs, religious institutions, and private donors often provide the speed, flexibility, and reach needed to get kids learning again.

A Call to Action for Myanmar and the Humanitarian Community

As Myanmar faces the loss of over 2,019 schools from the recent earthquake(AHA Center Situation Update No 5, 2025), there is a narrow window of opportunity. Learning from Indonesia, restoring education now can prevent deeper crises later. Let’s Not Leave Education Behind. We call on:

• Policy makers to embed education in emergency frameworks from day one
• Humanitarian organizations to integrate education in initial response teams
• Donors and private sector actors to fund the education in emergency activity related, that include but not limited to temporary learning spaces, school kits, teacher support.

The objective of education in emergencies is to ensures dignity and sustains life by offering safe spaces for learning, where children and youth who need other assistance can be identified and supported (INEE, 2024). Let’s restore education now. Children need safe places to learn, connect, and hope again.

 

We welcome your thoughts.

This article is part of a series reflecting on Indonesia’s experience in disaster response, aimed at contributing to shared learning and regional dialogue — particularly in the context of the Myanmar earthquake response. We warmly invite others to share their perspectives, experiences, and ideas.

For comments or contributions, please contact the MPBI Secretariat at mpbi.sekretariat@gmail.com . To learn more about our work, visit www.mpbi.info .

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[1] Indonesian Society for Disaster Management

[2] Indonesian Society for Disaster Management