Strategies Needed to Cope With Students\' Learning Constraints

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.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The second year of the Covid-19 pandemic has presented huge challenges for regional governments to improve the quality of learning, which has dropped significantly due to school closures.

Based on data and risk mitigation, a number of regional governments have developed learning recovery strategies.

A World Bank study shows that the effectiveness of learning during school closures over the March 2020-April 2021 period in Indonesia only reached 37 percent, which means the ongoing condition has caused a significant decrease in learning.

The learning adjusted years of schooling (LAYS) fell by 0.6 years, from 7.8 years to 7.2 years due to the pandemic. The length of learning period for Indonesian children in school is normally 12 years. Under current condition, they in fact will only have learned effectively 7.2 years.

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School reopenings are an option. However, in order to make them effective, education organizers must equip themselves with learning recovery strategies.

The remaining 12 percent of students could not take part in the learning process at all.

Tana Tidung regency in North Kalimantan has arranged a learning mode as part of the learning recovery strategies. At the onset of the pandemic, only 88 percent of students participated in distance learning, be they in or outside an online network. The remaining 12 percent of students could not take part in the learning process at all.

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Tana Tidung Regent Ibrahim Ali said that they had undertaken strategies, one being the utilization of meaningful and contextual teaching materials and the optimization of teachers’ in-person visits to assist students who could not take part in learning due to technological and geographic constraints.

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.

"As a result, Tana Tidung has succeeded in increasing the learning participation rate by 10 percent by the end of 2020. Students\' reading skills have also improved,” Ibrahim said on Tuesday (4/5/2021).

Consultation services

In Yogyakarta, teachers provide consultation for their students, which is held with compliance to physical distancing.

"This aims to make up for learning constraints the students meet during online programs. Some students can join, but some others still need assistance (offline),” SMA 9 Yogyakarta senior high school principal Jumadi said.

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At SD Serayu elementary school, consultation services were given to sixth grade students who participated in the Regional Education Standard Assessment (ASPD), or exams designated to evaluate the progress of their participation in distance learning.

"The results of the mapping through ASPD were used as evaluation material and input related to the education process in Yogyakarta," Didik Wardaya, head of the Yogyakarta Education, Youth and Sports Office said.

Also read: Reopening Schools a Risk to Students

The mapping has also been carried out by Nagekeo regency in East Nusa Tenggara, in collaboration with the Innovation Program for Indonesian School Children (INOVASI). The education office evaluated the students’ distant learning program during the pandemic in December 2020.

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.

Meanwhile, in Cimahi, West Java, teachers have spared additional time for learning to help the students who lag behind -- with the implementation of health protocols.

"I believe no child is stupid. It is just a matter of different learning capacities among the students. Hence, the approach should be different,” Voni Susilastuti, a second-grade teacher at SD Harapan 1 elementary school, said. (IKA/HRS/NCA/TAM)

(This article was translated by Musthofid)