Buying Rice is Hard, Let Alone a Cell Phone
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced students to adapt as learning methods have changed from in-person instruction to online. However, not all children can do this.
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced students to adapt as learning methods have changed from in-person instruction to online. However, not all children can do this. Many do not even own cell phones, let alone an internet connection.
Alan Latumutuani, 11, counted his fingers and toes and wrote it down. He then put his pen down, closed his book and approached his father, 41-year-old Dance Latumutuani, who was sitting nearby and watching. Alan told his father that he had finished his math homework.
Dance was unconvinced. He checked Alan’s work before letting him, a fifth-grader at the Piliana Christian elementary school, play. Piliana is located on the foothill of Mt. Binaiya on Seram Island, Telutih district, Central Maluku regency, Maluku.
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From Monday to Saturday, Dance spares an hour to accompany Alan study or do homework. Alan’s teacher visits their home once in a while. “The children will not study if we do not keep our eyes on them,” Dance said on Sunday (12/7/2020).
Since the Covid-19 outbreak began in March, Alan’s school has ceased all in-person classes as many schools implement online learning and teachers communicate with students through cell phones connected to the internet.
Dance said that method was not possible where he lived. There was hardly any internet coverage and many local children came from low-income families. “Buying rice is hard, let alone a cell phone,” he said.
A gadget with an internet-based application costs at least Rp 1.8 million (US$124.85) in the area. There are additional costs for phone credit. For locals, many of whom live below the poverty line, such items are simply unaffordable.
To get around the issue, teachers in Western Seram regency visit students at their homes. Homeroom teachers bear the responsibility in elementary schools. “All students will get guidance from teachers,” Western Seram Education Agency head Masudin Sangadji said.
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A similar condition is faced by children in Wamena, Jayawijaya regency, Papua. Online learning is undoable there due to poor internet connection. Because of this, the Labewa radio program was born.
“Good day, friends. We meet again in Labewa, Lagu dan Belajarnya Anak Wamena [Songs and Lessons for Children of Wamena], from RRI Wamena,” Sara Gombo, 15, began her broadcast from the studio of state-owned radio station RRI in Wamena on Thursday (2/7).
Today, we will learn about the history of the telephone and we will create a telephone from cans.
Ratna, a teacher at SD Inpres Kulitarek elementary school, greeted the children and asked them to prepare their notebooks and stationery. “How are you today, little brothers and sisters? Today, we will learn about the history of the telephone and we will create a telephone from cans,” Ratna said.
Meanwhile, fourth grader Aprilio, 9, was accompanied by his mother at their home in Jayawijaya as he listened to Ratna’s program. His notebook, pencil and eraser were on his desk. While listening, he wrote down the learning material on telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell.
Aprilio has studied at home since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak. At first, teachers gave students homework. However, many of them were unable to finish their work as expected as they did not understand the lesson and there was nobody to explain it to them.
Non-governmental organization Wahana Visi Indonesia (WVI) then collaborated with RRI, the Jayawijaya education agency and the Wamena Children’s Forum to broadcast the Labewa program every Tuesday and Thursday. WVI Pegunungan Tengah area program manager Joko Prasetiyo said that the program involved children broadcasters.
Papua administration data shows that only 46 percent of the province’s 608,000 students can participate in online learning. Papua education, library and archives agency head Christian Sohilait said that students unable to access online learning or radio broadcast learning lived in remote regions.
Students in Jakarta also face obstacles in online learning. First grade teacher and SDN 06 Pagi Tanjung Duren deputy principal of curriculum affairs, Len Sumarni, said that there were at least three children in her school who had difficulties in using gadgets.
Dropout
School closures during the pandemic have negatively affected the education of millions of children globally, including in Indonesia. The pandemic is another obstacle for children living in poverty.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2020 report, published by the UN on 7 July 2020, cited that school closures had led to obstacles in access to education. School closures in more than 190 countries, including Indonesia, have led to 90 percent or around 1.5 billion of students unable to go to school. Around 500 million students, or 33 percent, cannot participate in online learning due to unavailable tools and internet.
Digital gap has further marginalized certain students. In Indonesia, not many students have access to computers or internet. A 2019 data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) shows that only 53.06 percent of students between five and 24 years old can access the internet and only 23.5 percent of students use computers.
A survey by the Education and Culture Ministry on 3-8 April 2020 cites that 30.6 percent of elementary schools implement offline distance learning due to limited internet access. Kompas records show that a number of students have dropped out of school due to geographical issues.
Therefore, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin said that prolonged school closures would lead to lower retention and graduation rates and worsen learning results. This is found especially on vulnerable students, including those living in poverty or having disabilities.
To quote Indonesian Institute of Sciences education sociologist Anggi Afriansyah, flexible policies that side with marginalized students are necessary. (FRN/FLO/IKA/FRD