TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim said the government would begin reopening schools in COVID-19 yellow zones and allow them to conduct face-to-face learning. The government took this step so as to reduce the negative impacts of long-distance learning on students.

Nadiem said multiple results or research had shown the inevitable enforcement of long-distance learning amid the pandemic had brought about some negative impacts on students, and that the impacts could linger if necessary measures were absent.

“It could cause negative and permanent effects on students,” Nadiem told a press conference on Friday, August 7, 2020.

Nadiem explained the first impact was the risk of dropout, as students were forced into working due to varied factors, among them the non-maximum implementation of long-distance learning and the lack of online learning facilities.

“So the risk of dropout is real and will affect our children for the rest of their life,” he said.

The second impact, he continued, was the possible decline in students’ achievement due to the widening gap between those with access to technology and those without.

“We are facing the risk of learning loss, a lost generation, that will affect our generation permanently, especially the young,” Nadiem said.

Nadiem went on to say the last threat was the increasing violence against children during long-distance learning. He added children were also exposed to psychosocial risks and constant stress from being at home and unable to meet their friends.

However, Nadiem admitted that students’ safety and health were equally important, so the government should formulate multidimensional policies in education. Based on these considerations, he said, the Education and Culture Ministry and related ministries had made two decisions.

“The first one is the extensification of face-to-face learning in yellow zones. The second one is launching emergency curricula to give flexibility to students and teachers, streamline [the learning process], and provide specific assistance to execute and optimize long-distance learning,” Nadiem Makarim said.

Read: Govt to Reopen Schools in COVID-19 Yellow Zones

EGI ADYATAMA