Health Protocols Prerequisite for Reopening Schools

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

An officer serves parents of students at the New Student Admissions Post (PPDB) at SMK 15 state vocational school, South Jakarta, Tuesday (23/6/2020). The government, through a joint decree issued by four ministers, stipulates that schools can be opened in COVID-19 green zones on the condition that they meet health protocols, as well as obtain local government permits and parent permission.

The reopening of schools, as stipulated in a joint decree of four related ministries, should be followed with strict controls on the deployment of health protocols in each region.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The government has decided that schools may be reopened after all teachers and school personnel have been vaccinated. Limited face-to-face learning activities can be allowed even before the start of the 2021/2022 academic year in July.

However, limited face-to-face learning (PTM) should be implemented under strict health protocols. "The education offices and the regional office of the Religious Affairs Ministry in regions are obliged to closely monitor the implementation of the limited face-to-face learning activities. If a COVID-19 case is found, the limited PTM must be stopped immediately,” Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim said while announcing a joint decree (SKB) signed by the education and culture minister, the religious affairs minister, the health minister and the home affairs minister regarding guidelines on learning activities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Jakarta on Tuesday (30/3/2021).

Also read: Opening Schools during the Pandemic

Limited PTM has actually been allowed since January 2021. The decision to reopen schools was made by the local government in each region.

Based on data from the Education and Culture Ministry, nationally only 22 percent of schools have conducted limited PTM. The rest still use distance learning (PJJ).

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Students use the free Jak WiFi internet facility provided by the Jakarta provincial administration to follow the online distance learning (PJJ) education policy on Wednesday (2/9/2020) at the RT 05/RW 02 community unit hall in Galur subdistrict, Johar Baru district, Central Jakarta.

Nadiem said that as stated in the new joint ministerial decree, parents still played a key role in deciding whether their children would attend limited PTM. The schools should respect parents’ decisions and provide online learning options for those who do not attend the face-to-face learning activities.

The role of the principal is also very important in limited PTM activities. All teachers and school personnel must be in healthy condition and must not have any symptoms of COVID-19. Canteens cannot be opened, and sports or extracurricular activities should be prohibited.

Also read: Maintaining Teacher Quality

On the same occasion, the spokesman for the COVID-19 task force, Wiku Adisasmito, said schools should ensure that children were not infected with COVID-19 when attending face-to-face learning activities so that they would not pass the virus on to family members at home. To date, there have been 181,637 COVID-19 cases among school-age children.

"Limited PTM activities should be carried out after simulation processes. Local governments must closely monitor the simulation processes, from the children leaving for school to returning home. The central and regional COVID-19 task force will be involved," said Wiku.

To ensure face-to-face teaching and learning activities can run smoothly, the government is hoping to complete the vaccination of teachers and school personnel by June 2021.

Strict supervision

Separately, the head of the Education Care Family Movement, Yanti Sriyulianti, commended the government\'s commitment to vaccinating all teachers and school personnel. However, she said that students and communities near the schools also needed to be vaccinated.

If teachers and school personnel have received a vaccine but the students and the community around the schools have not, the risks of COVID-19 transmission remain high, she said.

Parents have been concerned about the lack of clarity regarding those who are responsible for imposing sanctions if COVID-19 health protocols are ignored.

For the sake of the students’ safety, sanctions for those who ignore the COVID-19 health protocols should be strictly enforced. Parents have been concerned about the lack of clarity regarding those who are responsible for imposing sanctions if COVID-19 health protocols are ignored.

"We appeal to the central, regional and all school management to prioritize the safety of the children. They must also adhere to the health protocols, including when the children leave the house to go to school, when they are in the car and in the neighborhood where they live and play and when they are in the class room,” she added.

Kompas/Priyombodo

A student at Al-Bayan Islamic School, Tangerang City, Banten, doing the work of the teacher while studying at home (home learning), Tuesday (17/3/2020). School students in the Jabodetabek area and several other provinces in Indonesia must study at home following the government\'s policy to temporarily close schools in an effort to prevent the transmission of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The national coordinator of the Association of Teachers, Satriwan Salim, said that the reopening of schools should begin in COVID-19 green zones or in remote areas that had difficulty accessing the internet. This was important so that the lack of learning activities would not have further negative impacts on students in remote areas.

Many students in remote areas have difficulty following online learning activities because many lack smart phones or internet connections. Many schools have assigned teachers to visit the students to overcome the lack of learning facilities. But this solution is ineffective because teachers also have difficulty reaching students’ houses.

Also read: The Perseverance of a “Waste Teacher”

The condition of the students in remote areas is quite different than of those who live in urban areas, who generally have smart phones and easy access to the internet. They can mostly follow the online learning activities smoothly.

People\'s Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Bambang Soesatyo reminded the government not to push for the reopening of schools in regions where COVID-19 cases remained high. He said a number of schools and campuses in several areas had become clusters of COVID-19 following the reopening of their educational activities.

Continue with online learning

In Bandung, West Java, the Bandung municipal government is continuing distance learning even though the government has allowed schools to carry out limited PTM. The secretary of the Bandung Education Office, Cucu Saputra, said Bandung needed time to reopen schools because not all teachers and school personnel had received the COVID-19 vaccine. Of the approximately 25,000 teachers and school personnel at preschools to junior high schools in the city, only about 1,300 have been vaccinated.

"We are still coordinating with the health office to prioritize the vaccination of teachers and school personnel. However, getting vaccinated does not mean being completely immune. Therefore, we will still prioritize the use of strict health protocols," he said.

This decision was made because COVID-19 transmission risks in Bandar Lampung remained high.

Like Bandung, the municipal administration of Bandar Lampung, Lampung province, is also extending distance learning, until July 10. This decision was made because COVID-19 transmission risks in Bandar Lampung remained high.

Kompas/Hendra A Setyawan

The home study policy set by the government regarding the covid-19 outbreak was used by Al Azhar 15 Pamulang Elementary School, South Tangerang, Banten to hold online teaching and learning activities, on Tuesday (17/3/2020). Students and teachers utilize the googleclassroom application for study rooms and zoom cloud meetings for teleconferences.

The mayor of Bandar Lampung, Eva Dwiana, said the city was still categorized as a COVID-19 orange zone, so the reopening of schools could endanger teachers and students. The community is expected to accept the decision.

Also read : Online Learning is Safer for Students and Teachers

Meanwhile, the municipal government of Bekasi, West Java, plans to allow more schools to conduct limited face-to-face learning activities. Since March 22, about 110 elementary and junior high schools have conducted limited PTM activities. "There are 39 junior high schools and 28 elementary schools that have submitted proposals to conduct face-to-face learning activities," said the head of the Bekasi City Education Office, Inayatullah. (MED/VIO/RTG/NTA/VAN)

(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi)