Four non-Negotiable Requirements to Reopen Schools
The government has decided to reopen schools in regencies and cities considered COVID-19 green zones.
By
Mediana & Yovita Arika
·5 minutes read
Kompas/AGUS SUSANTO
Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Nadiem Makarim telekonferensi dalam sambutannya dalam Peringatan Hari Pendidikan Nasional Tahun 2020 yang dilakukan secara terpusat dan terbatas secara daring di halaman kantor Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Jakarta, Sabtu (2/5/2020).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The government has decided to reopen schools in regencies and cities considered COVID-19 green zones. Schools that are allowed to organize in-person learning will start gradually with high schools, middle schools and elementary schools.
"We haven’t revised the academic calendar. The new school year, 2020 to 2021, will begin around mid-July 2020," said Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim in a virtual press conference titled "A Guide to Organizing Learning in the Academic Year and New Academic Year During the COVID-19 Pandemic Period". The guide was a joint effort by the Education and Culture Ministry, the Religious Affairs Ministry, the Health Ministry and the Home Affairs Ministry and was shared on Monday afternoon (15/06/2020) in Jakarta.
As of June 15, some 94 percent of students were living in one of the 429 regencies and cities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic or in yellow, orange and red zones. They will be required to continue distance learning (PJJ).
The remaining 6 percent of students live in the 85 green zones or regencies and cities not affected by COVID-19. They will be permitted to attend in-person classes.
Green zones are areas that are unaffected by COVID-19. Yellow zones cover areas with low transmission risk. In orange zones, the risk of COVID-19 transmission is moderate.
In these zones, local transmission occurs readily. The epidemic is widespread and many new clusters have been discovered.
Red zones cover areas with very high transmission risk and where the spread of the virus has not been controlled. In these zones, local transmission occurs readily. The epidemic is widespread and many new clusters have been discovered.
Nadiem said there were four non-negotiable requirements that schools must meet before resuming in-person learning. The first requirement was that the school had to be in a green zone. Second, the regional administration and the religious affairs offices had to give permission.
Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro
Fourth-grader Agda Baline Swarahati of SD Santo Antonius of Padua elementary school uses a laptop on Tuesday (9/6/2020) to study physics, sports and health for the final school assessment at her home in Nusa Loka of BSD City, South Tangerang, Banten. The Covid-19 epidemic has forced schools to implement online learning to protect the health and safety of their students and teachers.
Third, the schools had to follow all health protocols and be ready to carry out in-person learning. The fourth requirement was that the parents or guardians of the students must allow their children to resume in-person learning.
According to Nadiem, if one of the four conditions were not met, the student would continue learning at home.
Little by little
The reopening of schools will start with Phase I, namely senior high schools (SMA), vocational high schools (SMK), MAKs, SMTKs, SMAKs, Package C schools,
junior high schools (SMP), MTs and Package B schools. Phase II will include elementary schools (SD), MIs, Package A schools and schools for special needs (SLB). Phase III will consist of formal and informal early childhood education.
"Even in COVID-19 green zones, we are setting rules for school reopening. If a regency or city in a green zone changes into a yellow zone, learning will immediately be brought online or to PJJ," said Nadiem.
The transition period for formal and non-formal early childhood education begins in November 2020 and the new normal phase will begin in January 2021.
The deadline for the preparation of the transition phase for senior high schools, junior high schools and equivalent schools is July 2020. For these schools, the new normal phase will start in September 2020. For elementary schools (SD), MIs, Package A schools and schools for special needs, the deadline for the transition period will be September 2020 and the new normal phase will begin in November 2020. The transition period for formal and non-formal early childhood education begins in November 2020 and the new normal phase will begin in January 2021.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head Doni Monardo said COVID-19 green zone status would be very dynamic. Therefore, the implementation of health protocols would be crucial. He acknowledged that the government could not provide COVID-19 tests, such as PCR or rapid tests, for all students and school staff members because it was expensive.
Curriculum
House of Representatives’ Commission X chairman Syaiful Huda appreciated the guidelines but mentioned they did not provide information about how the curriculum would adapt to COVID-19.
"Teachers are experiencing the complexity of coordinating online learning [PJJ], so the government should issue teaching and learning guidelines. The curriculum needs to be improved and become adaptive to disaster situations," said Syaiful.
Kompas/AGUS SUSANTO
Around 300 students of the East Java Gontor Modern Islamic boarding school take part in the Covid-19 rapid testing program on Sunday (12/4/2020) at Patriot Candrabhaga Stadium in Bekasi, West Java.
Many teachers said the joint decision of the four ministers had not answered the main problems during the three months of online learning (PJJ). The teachers hoped that there would be a concrete solution from the government to improve the online learning process, considering that 94 percent of students would continue with it.
"Why not improve the online learning process first? Teachers need curriculum guidance in the pandemic era," said Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI) chairperson Unifah Rosyidi.
According to Satriwan Salim, deputy secretary general of the Federation of Indonesian Teachers\' Unions (FSGI), there should be guidelines for the implementation of the curriculum. "The guidelines for organizing learning activities have not yet touched the material," he said.
Indonesian Teachers\' Union (IGI) chairman M Ramli Rahim was disappointed by the absence of a specific agenda to prepare teachers for fun and high-quality online teaching. (MED/IKA)
