TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Children Protection Commission (KPAI) reported that many students were coming under psychological pressure and some even dropped out of school to face various problems during the online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Many children do not have access to online distance learning or PJJ, so many of them skip a grade or even drop out of school,” said the KPAI commissioner for education, Retno Listyarti, in a press release received by Antara in Jakarta, Thursday, July 23.

She said KPAI received a number of complaints that teachers and schools were focusing on achieving the curriculum despite difficulties encountered by the public due to the pandemic.

While in fact, the Education and Culture Ministry had issued a circular No, 4/2020 noting that teachers must not pursue curriculum achievement during the online learning given the limited time, facilities, learning media, and conditions that could hinder the learning process.

However, many lecturers set aside those considerations and kept giving their students a lot of assignments. Thus, Retno argued that the schools' and teachers’ selfishness caused students to feel psychologically stressed, skipped a grade, and even dropped out of school.

“Causing students to be exhausted and depressed is a form of violence, too,” Retno remarked, adding that the most affected students are those with special needs.

Read: COVID-19 School Closures; UNICEF Announces New Education Platform

ANTARA