Around 500,000 laptops, access points, projectors, connectors and speakers will be distributed to 29,387 schools this year, with the priority on schools that still lack ICT equipment.
By
KOMPAS EDITOR
·3 minutes read
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digitalization of education. Although many obstacles still lie ahead, network learning will continue to grow.
Online learning has significantly advanced the ecosystem for digital learning. Information and communication technology (ICT) devices and infrastructure have become a basic need of education today. The government is providing ICT device support for schools through the Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry’s digitalization of education program, for which Rp 3.7 trillion has been budgeted (Kompas, 4/8/2021).
Around 500,000 laptops, access points, projectors, connectors and speakers will be distributed to 29,387 schools this year, with the priority on schools that still lack ICT equipment. The program will continue to support schools and other formal educational institutions until 2024 with a total budget of Rp 17 trillion.
The ministry’s vocational education director general, Wikan Sukarinto, said the program was a collaboration between the education ministry and industry, educational institutions and the private sector, in both procuring domestically produced laptops and providing training to teachers, students and parents to use digital devices.
However, this collaboration alone is not enough. It is also necessary to collaborate with relevant ministries and agencies so that the program does not end up widening the digital divide or learning inequity that have already been exacerbated by the pandemic.
In terms of ICT infrastructure, internet access – an important component of digital education – is not evenly distributed across the country, either. Data from the Communication and Information Ministry shows that 12,548 villages do not even have internet infrastructure. Of the 70,670 villages that have infrastructure, 68.54 percent of the available services still use second-generation (2G) cellular networks, especially in eastern Indonesia.According to the education ministry’s 2020 data, 18 percent of primary and secondary schools, or a total of 40,779 schools, do not have internet access. In fact, 3 percent of this figure, or 7,552 schools, do not have installed power to access the services of state-owned electricity company PLN.
Without the collaboration of these two ministries, the digitalized education program may only spur inequality between public schools and religious schools.
The program has achieved equal distribution of aid only to schools under the Education ministry, whereas there are tens of thousands of other schools under the Religious Affairs Ministry. Without the collaboration of these two ministries, the digitalized education program may only spur inequality between public schools and religious schools.
Indeed, digitalizing education is necessary in the Industry 4.0 era. We must therefore continue to prioritize those children who have been left behind in education over the pandemic for a variety of reasons. Not all of their problems can be solved with the help of technology.
These children require special support and assistance so they will not be left behind on the road to Golden Indonesia 2045. No child should be left behind in their pursuit of education.