Young Teacher Sakinah Helps Sustain Revitalised Pulau Kukusan Madrasah
On Pulau Kukusan, a small madrasah long struggled with broken classrooms, leaking roofs and goats wandering through lessons.
Editor: Mursyid Sonsang
· 3 min read
Labuan Bajo — A young teacher’s decision to stay at a small island madrasah is helping keep formal schooling alive for children on Pulau Kukusan, Manggarai Barat, East Nusa Tenggara.
Local media identify Sakinah, 20, as one of four teachers at Madrasah Ibtidaiyah (MI) Al-Hidayah, the only formal school on the island, which serves 46 students from grades one to six according to the headmaster and regional broadcasters.
Teaching through damaged classrooms
According to coverage by TribunJatim, Sakinah completed senior high school and began teaching at MI Al-Hidayah in 2023 after the school struggled to find enough educators willing to work on the island.
She and another young teacher, both former pupils at the madrasah, returned to teach there out of concern that without local staff the school might be forced to close, leaving children without accessible primary education.
Reports by national and regional outlets describe how, before recent renovations, parts of the school building were badly damaged.
Only two classrooms were considered usable, forcing some pupils to follow lessons outdoors, including under a tree, because there was not enough indoor space.
The head of MI Al-Hidayah, Husen, told broadcasters that students’ learning was regularly disturbed by goats and other livestock wandering into open sections of the school, and by rain leaking through classroom roofs.
Before repairs, some pupils sat on the floor or under trees during lessons, and teaching could be delayed while staff cleaned up animal waste inside classrooms.
Revitalisation after earthquake damage
The island and its school were further affected by a recent earthquake that damaged parts of the madrasah building.
In response, the Nusa Tenggara Timur regional police water unit undertook a revitalisation project at MI Al-Hidayah starting in June 2026, focusing on two classrooms that had become unsafe.
By early September 2026, the project had produced four usable classrooms, up from two before the works, allowing teaching to move back from outdoor areas into more permanent learning spaces.
Media reports say the improved rooms were built as semi-permanent structures with tiled floors and folding chairs, while two other classrooms on either side of the renovated block remain in need of further repair after earthquake damage.
The headmaster and visiting officials have portrayed the project as part of a broader effort to restore children’s learning conditions after the quake and to reduce disruptions from weather and livestock.
A small staff serving the island’s only school
MI Al-Hidayah has operated on Pulau Kukusan since 2001 and is described by regional radio and online outlets as the island’s only formal education institution.
Current reports state that the madrasah now has 46 students taught by four teachers, all of whom, including the headmaster, are still working on a non-permanent, honorary basis.
The teachers rely largely on Indonesia’s school operational assistance (BOS) funds and external support for running costs and improvements, according to regional broadcasters.
Education ministry data lists MI Al-Hidayah Pulau Kukusan as a private primary-level madrasah located on Pulau Kukusan, Pasir Panjang, Manggarai Barat, confirming its formal status in the national system.
In interviews, school staff and officials emphasise that these limited human and financial resources make individual teachers’ commitment crucial for maintaining daily classes and preventing the closure of the island’s only primary school option.
Sources
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