New Cases Still High, Local Administration Cautious

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Students of different grades wear masks and maintain physical distance as study together in a “pod” on Friday (28/8/2020), using the free wifi facility at the RW 05 community unit hall in West Kuningan, South Jakarta. The subdistrict offices provided free internet access to make it easier for the students to follow the online distance learning (PJJ) education policy during the Covid-19 health crisis.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The decision of some regional governments to reopen schools for the 2020 academic year starting Monday is risky because new COVID-19 infections are still high. Regional governments should be cautious in deciding which schools should be opened in order to ensure the health and safety of the children.

The mapping of school readiness for reopening needs to be done by the respective local administraion together with the local COVID-19 task force. School reopenings should be delayed and long distance learning should be continued.

Also read: Safety First in Education

The National Child Protection Commission (KPAI) and the United Federation of Indonesian Teachers (FSGI) observe that the compliance and discipline practiced by school experimenting with reopening were poor. At those schools, some students and teachers took of their masks, ignored physical distancing rules and did not wash their hands.

“The KPAI appreciates regional heads and education agency heads who decide to continue long distance learning due to high new COVID-19 cases and uncontrolled coronavirus spread, which have a high possibility of making schools new COVID-19 clusters,” KPAI commissioner Retno Listyarti said when presenting the perception survey on January 2021 school reopenings last Sunday.

Students want reopening

KPAI’s survey was done between 11 and 18 December last year in all provinces with total respondents of 62,448 students, covering students from elementary school, middle school, high school, as well as Islamic schools (madrasha) and schools for disabled children known as Sekolah Luar Biasa (SLB). The survey found that 78.17 percent of respondents or 48,817 students agreed with school reopenings from January 2021. 10 percent (6,241 students) disagreed, and 11.83 percent (10,078 students) were undecided.

Also read: Students’ Safety Top Priority

Most students agree with reopening because there are some subjects that are difficult to study using the long distance learning method. Other reasons are ‘feeling bored with long distance learning’ and ‘missing school friends’. There are some students that answer ‘avoiding domestic violence at home’.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

A number of students from various grades follow the online distance learning process (PJJ) using free wifi facilities in tents provided independently by residents of RT 013 / RW 02 Pondok Kelapa, Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, Wednesday (12/8 / 2020).

Although students agree with school reopening, they prefer a partial face-to-face learning – once in a week, not a full week. The learning process for the rest of the week should be done under long distance learning method.

Also read: Not Safe Yet to Reopen Schools

Students who disagree with reopening said they do not want to catch the coronavirus. Moreover, some of them perceived that their school did not have the required health facility and sanitary standard. Other respondents disagreed because of high coronavirus infection risk in public transportation.

Teacher perception

The FSGI’s survey was done from 19 to 22 December last year with a total of 6,513 respondents from Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, Banten, Yogyakarta, Central Kalimantan, Bengkulu, Jambi, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Papua, and West Papua. The survey found an equal proportion of teachers who agree or disagree with the reopening plan.

49.36 percent of respondents (3,215 teachers) agreed, while 45.27 percent (2,948 teachers) disagreed with school reopening starting early 2021. 5.37 percent (350 teachers) was undecided.

Also read: Children Vulnerable to Coronavirus Disease

Teachers who agree with reopening cited various reasons, such as ‘boredom with long distance learning method’, ‘the method cannot accommodate lab practice’, ‘unstable signal’, as well as ‘some students do not have the required infrastructure’. Meanwhile, teachers who disagree were concerned with high new COVID-19 cases, as well as the potential of coronavirus spread due to school’s inadequate infrastructures for implementing health protocol.

Kompas/Priyombodo

Nanik, a teacher of Islamic religion teaches using the sign language method in distance learning for deaf students from classrooms at SLB B-C Sumber Budi, Pesanggrahan, South Jakarta, Friday (11/9/2020).

FSGI deputy secretary-general Mansur urged regional governments to experiment with the school reopening plan first by reopening high school with 25 percent capacity. The respective local government should be ready to implement strict standard and sanctions. If not, schools should delay their reopening plan.

Education and Culture Ministry’s acting secretary-general Ainun Na’im explained that the ministry allowed reopenings but did not mandate schools to do so. Hence, the final decision is in the hands of parents. If parents feel uncomfortable, students can continue with long distance learning.

In accordance with the result of the COVID-19 task force coordination meeting on December 29, 2020, long distance learning will continue for the semester.

Also read: Psychological Burden of Distance Learning

In a virtual discussion last Sunday, Bogor Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto said most schools in Bogor were not ready for reopening due to infrastructure availability as well as psychological factor.

In Sidoarjo, East Java, the local administration has delayed school reopenings due to the high number of new cases. “In accordance with the result of the COVID-19 task force coordination meeting on December 29, 2020, long distance learning will continue for the semester,” Sidoarjo’s Education and Culture Agency head Asrofi said.

Also read: Indonesia’s Higher Education in Transitional Period

Meanwhile, Surabaya is delaying school reopenings, although 14 middle schools in the city had experimented with the idea. Surabaya Education and Culture Agency head Supomo said school reopenings could only be done by Class IX students under limited capacity.

This article was translated by Lionel Priyadi.