For the sake of students’ safe learning and to prevent the further spread of Covid-19, remote learning must therefore be reimposed to maintain continuity of education.
By
KOMPAS EDITOR
·3 minutes read
Kompas/Hendra A Setyawan (HAS)
A student of Al Azhar 15 Pamulang Elementary School studying online at home due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 outbreak, in South Tangerang City, Banten, Tuesday (17/3/2020).
Amid the growth in Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant, schools must inevitably close again.
On observing developments in the Covid-19 caseload and in referring to several studies, reopening schools during a spike in community transmission will trigger a surge in Covid-19 cases and clusters of infection in schools. If this occurs, it will further accelerate transmission in the wider community, feeding into a continuous cycle.
For the sake of students’ safe learning and to prevent the further spread of Covid-19, remote learning must therefore be reimposed to maintain continuity of education. It is true that the last two years of remote learning was ineffective due to various obstacles, which gave rise to many issues, from learning loss to psychosocial impacts on children.
Reopening schools requires community support and discipline in following the health protocols, as well as consistent government regulations and policies to overcome the pandemic.
Face-to-face learning, although limited, is the best solution for learning recovery, especially for students who have constraints that prevent them from participating in online learning and those who do not possess learning independence. Reopening schools requires community support and discipline in following the health protocols, as well as consistent government regulations and policies to overcome the pandemic.
It must be acknowledged that implementation of the health protocols started to slacken with the decline in Covid-19 cases following the Delta-fueled second wave in mid-2021. Limited face-to-face learning (PTM) was supposed to be implemented with strict health protocols, but was not fully complied with. Random inspections carried out by Puskesmas (community health centers) at 1,900 schools found that 26 percent of these schools had poor implementation of the health protocols during the PTM period (Kompas, 25/1/2022).
Kompas/Yuniadhi Agung (MYE)
Savana (9), a student of Mentari Intercultural School Bintaro (MISB), South Tangerang, waves to all classmates and teachers on the last day of learning from home via the zoom application from his home in the Pondok Karya area, South Tangerang, Thursday (11/6/ 2020).
With these conditions, as well as the potential emergence of new virus variants, it is necessary to find other ways to resume learning while prioritizing student safety. Hybrid learning and teachers making house calls remain options for as long as this pandemic lasts. Support for teachers and vulnerable/marginalized students must also be prioritized. Parents must also be supported, as not all parents are ready for their children to study at home.
In future, school reopenings and closures will be commonplace as long as the pandemic does not subside. The procedures and mechanisms for reopening and closing schools due to Covid-19 need to be made more flexible by taking into account the number of Covid-19 cases in a community. The safety and security of children should be a major consideration.
The government estimates that the surge in Omicron cases will peak at the end of February 2022, and projects that the peak caseload could be three times that of the Delta variant (Kompas.id, 31/1/2022). This projection serves as a warning for education stakeholders to take more appropriate mitigation and anticipatory measures to ensure safe learning for students.
