Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi said the initiative reflects the city’s proactive effort to prevent similar incidents in other schools.
“We are taking preventive action. As Chairperson of IKA ITS East Java, I asked for assistance from ITS, and the rector agreed to help assess the structural strength of every boarding school building,” Eri said in Surabaya on Tuesday.
A special joint team comprising ITS alumni engineers will soon be formed and deployed to inspect pesantrens across East Java and assess the structural integrity of their buildings.
IKA ITS will provide direct technical support for structural and architectural assessments at Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School, where the collapse occurred, to ensure future construction meets safety standards.
“Our goal is to ensure that any future construction—no matter who builds it—can receive our technical assistance in design and calculation. This is crucial to prevent another tragedy,” Eri said.
Related news: Minister Pratikno urges coordinated audit of pesantren buildings
He added that a boarding school mapping program would start in Surabaya before expanding to other districts in East Java.
“This mapping will be carried out with IKA ITS. We will begin by organizing all boarding schools in Surabaya, then extend the program across East Java. A dedicated team will lead its implementation,” he said.
The four-story building at Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in Sidoarjo collapsed on September 29 during afternoon prayers, killing 67 people.
Following the collapse, President Prabowo Subianto ordered a nationwide evaluation of the structural integrity of Islamic boarding schools to ensure compliance with safety standards.
Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar said improving safety standards at pesantrens and places of worship was now a key national priority, noting that 42,369 pesantrens across Indonesia are privately operated, while only about five percent of Islamic schools, or madrasahs, are state-run.
Related news: RI to conduct nationwide pesantren safety audit after fatal collapse
Translator: Primayanti
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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