Teachers irked over school reopenings

‘Distance learning the best way to protect children from Covid-19’

The government’s decision to allow more schools to reopen has drawn strong criticism from paediatricians and teachers, who have been calling for schools to stay focused on distance learning to prevent children from contracting the coronavirus.

Despite daily increases of infections in Indonesia, the government last Friday expanded a school reopening policy for schools in Covid19 yellow zones, or moderate-risk areas.

The decision comes only a month after schools in green zones, or lowrisk areas, were given the green light to reopen.

The Federation of Indonesian Teachers Associations (FSGI) said the change risked creating new infection clusters at schools.

The group had received reports of at least 180 teachers and students from across the nation who had tested positive for the virus.

“The right to live and the right for students, teachers and parents to be healthy are still the most important things,” FSGI deputy secretary-general Satriwan Salim said on Monday.

“Children are also entitled to the right to education, but we have to remember that children who can get an education are those who are healthy and alive. Distance learning is the best option we have right now.”

He said while it was true that there were many limitations and technical problems hindering distance learning, reopening schools was not the answer.

“The government and local administrations must first solve the problems of distance learning.

“There should be intense coordination across ministries, institutions and regional administrations to find the solutions,” he added.

When the previous policy allowing schools in green zones to reopen was in force, the FSGI found that at least 79 regions violated the policy.

They found, for example, that some schools outside green zones and some preschools in green zones reopened, even though the policy prohibited them from doing so.

“We wonder why there were no sanctions from the government for these regions,” FSGI secretary-general Heru Purnomo said.

Official data shows that 57% of Indonesian students live in red and orange zones, while the remaining 43% are in green and yellow zones across 276 cities and regencies.

Indonesian Paediatricians Association chairman Aman Pulungan questioned whether regions had an adequate number of polymerase chain reaction tests and intensive care beds to handle a potential spike in cases among children.

“If they are not prepared, then don’t open the schools,” Aman said on Sunday.

Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim has repeatedly said reopening was optional and that schools and parents had discretion to decide what is best.

But critics say the policy could see parents sending their children back to school prematurely without taking the proper safety measures.

The Health Ministry found that 6,584 children aged six to 17 had tested positive for the virus as of Aug 6.