Internet Cost Burdens Students

KOMPAS/AGNES SWETTA PANDIA

A “pod” of grade 5 and 6 students of SDN 040484 state elementary school in Payung village of Payung district in Karo regency, North Sumatra, follow their online learning assignments on Tuesday (25/8/2020). The students attend two-hour online classes on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Ownership of gadgets and internet data access are still the main obstacles that need solutions in online long-distance learning. Breakthroughs in policies are urgently needed.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Online learning, which has been running for about five months at a national scale, has become one of the steps to protect students and teachers from being infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Breakthrough steps are needed to overcome a number of problems relating to this policy, especially those related to internet data packages and gadgets that are too expensive for a number of students.

A number of efforts, such as the provision of free Wi-Fi, need to be expanded. Meanwhile, the steps of a number of cellular telecommunication operators that have recently offered special data packages to support long-distance learning (PJJ) are expected not only to be part of a marketing gimmick, but it is really part of their concern for education.

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This is because long-distance learning requires students in Maluku to buy an internet data package of around Rp 200,000 monthly. As a result, many students from underprivileged families are unable to follow the online learning process optimally.

"In one month, I need 55 gigabytes of internet data for the online learning. It costs Rp 200,000. Internet data packages are very expensive. Many of our friends cannot study well,” said Wilda Musami, 15, a Grade XI student at SMA Siwalima Ambon high school on Tuesday (25/8/2020).

ARSIP WILDA MUSKITA

Eleventh-grader Wilda Muskita, 15, of SMA Siwalima high school studies online on Tuesday (25/8/2020) at her home in Ambon, Maluku. Online learning incurs high costs from mobile data packages.

To participate in online learning, students use a number of applications that require a lot of internet data. Because they cannot afford internet data packages, students from less well-off families cannot join the online learning and they miss out on online classes.

"I cannot afford rice, let alone internet data packages," said Nia Palijama, 40, a parent of students in Ambon.

Apart from the high cost of internet data, based on 2018 Indonesian Village Potential Statistics data, 58.2 percent of the 1,231 villages in Maluku have no access to cellular telephone and internet. This condition has not changed much today.

Limited internet access and gadgets have also become an obstacle for online learning in parts of West Java. Because they do not have gadgets, some children are forced to visit their neighbors to join the online learning.

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A resident of Purwakarta district, Seli Desmiarti, 35, said that during the pandemic, the need for internet data packages had doubled from before. "Usually, internet data of 19 GB is sufficient for a month. Now, each month we can buy it two to three times,” said Iyul, 40, a resident of West Karawang.

Head of the Purwakarta Regency Education Office, Purwanto, said an evaluation of the long-distance learning in Purwakarta during the pandemic had shown that students were constrained by a lack of gadgets and internet data packages.

Currently, the free internet access is available at the Police Mobile Brigade headquarters in Ambon.

To overcome limited internet access, the Maluku Police Mobile Brigade Unit provides free internet access for students from underprivileged families at the nearest police headquarters or post. "Currently, the free internet access is available at the Police Mobile Brigade headquarters in Ambon. Later, it [free internet access] will be made available at regency police offices and district police offices throughout Maluku," said head of public relations of the Maluku Police, Sr. Comr. M Roem Ohoirat.

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Meanwhile, the Bogor municipality administration has prepared a free internet network with wireless access or Wi-Fi at 900 spots for 8,361 poor students. "In Bogor municipality, we still find residents who have difficulty accessing the internet and don\'t even have a gadget, which prevents their children from learning online. This reflects the existing reality. How about people in more remote areas? So, in my opinion, this is an education emergency. Everyone has to move,” said Bogor Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Grade 4 teacher Nurlia, 23, provides online learning materials on Monday (24/8/2020) from her classroom at SD Negeri Genteng state elementary school in Cipaku, Bogor municipality, West Java. While teachers provide assignments through easily accessible and affordable platforms, some schools are also conducting in-class learning activities due to the high cost of mobile data packages for their students, whose families come from various financial backgrounds.

According to Yanti Sriyulianti, the head of the Association of Families Caring for Education, village funds can actually be allocated to provide free Wi-Fi access for children who participate in online learning. Village funds can also be used to provide quality learning resource centers for free for citizens.

Not a marketing trick

Recently, several cellular telecommunication operators such as Telkomsel, XL Axiata and Indosat Ooredoo have offered special data packages to support online learning. Chairman of the Indonesian Teachers Association, M. Ramli Rahim, appreciated this move. However, he hopes that such a program is not a marketing trick.

"We hope that their steps will really show their concern for Indonesian education," said Ramli.

This is because the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an emergency in the world of education.

Chairman of the House of Representatives Commission X, Syaiful Huda, said he hoped cellular telecommunication operators could compromise their current business interests. This is because the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an emergency in the world of education.

This week, Commission X will summon officials from the Education and Culture Ministry to discuss seven educational issues, one of which is the evaluation of the online learning. "Since three months ago, we have asked the government to provide data on the mapping of the conditions and ability of schools to deal with the online learning," he said.

Previously, an education sociology researcher at the Center for Population Research of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Anggi Afriansyah, said that the use of the long-distance learning (PJJ) terminology so far had made policymakers and the community trapped in technology-based learning using the internet platform.

As soon as schools closed due to social restrictions, the solution offered by the Education and Culture Ministry was online learning, which meant children from poor families were left behind.

KOMPAS/DIONISIUS REYNALDO TRIWIBOWO

Two students of SMA Negeri 6 state senior high school study online on Tuesday (25/8/2020) at Bukit Batu Police station in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan. The Bukit Batu Police are providing the use of its offices and facilities so local students can study in comfort and without incurring extra costs.

Director General of Teachers and Education Personnel at the Education and Culture Ministry, Iwan Syahril, emphasized his commitment to finding solutions to the problem of limited internet access. The Education and Culture Ministry always reminds the public of the importance of implementing meaningful lessons during a pandemic. "Cooking activities with parents can be a place to learn numeracy, literacy and teach children the importance of character education," he said.

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Syahril realized that, in term of effectiveness, online learning could not replace face-to-face learning in class. However, the current COVID-19 pandemic is truly an emergency situation. (FRN/MEL/GIO/MED/IKA)