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Thousands of children in Tomohon, North Sulawesi have been unable to attend classes this week due to eruptions, earthquakes and elevated danger levels stemming from nearby Mount Lokon.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said more than 2,727 students in elementary and junior high school have been encouraged to enroll in emergency classrooms set up at various evacuation shelters.

“Another alternative is to send the students to the schools nearest to the shelters,” Sutopo told the Jakarta Globe.

The BNPB and the local Education Office are coordinating efforts to ensure that students can still receive lessons regardless of the situation.

“We will create study groups according to the students' age and level. Tomorrow [Wednesday], the Education Office will do a final count of the number of students who can go to nearby schools as guest students,” Sutopo said.

Psychologists will also be involved to help students overcome post-disaster trauma.

 The 1,580-meter-tall Mount Lokon experienced its biggest eruption on Sunday with huge clouds of ash propelled 3,500 meters into the sky.

More than 5,200 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters since the volcano first erupted on July 10 and its alert status was placed at the highest level.

It last erupted in 1991, killing a Swiss tourist.

The Indonesian archipelago has dozens of active volcanoes and straddles major tectonic fault lines known as the “Ring of Fire” between the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

The country’s most active volcano, Mount Merapi in Central Java, killed more than 350 people in a series of violent eruptions last year.