Sultan HB X Asserts Schools Will Reopen If All Students Are Vaccinated

TEMPO.CO, Yogyakarta - Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengku Buwono X (Sultan HB X) has not yet allowed face-to-face learning at schools although all teachers have received Covid-19 vaccines and the number of virus cases has declined.

He said schools reopening will await the vaccinations for all students to be completed, which is predicted in August-September 2021. “Then it’s allowed to hold a trial of face-to-face school. If we hold it now, the risk of getting exposed [to Covid-19] is still very high,” he said in Yogyakarta, Wednesday, August 25.

He assessed that the city is only ready to hold on-site studies in terms of the teachers. Besides, the strictest level of public mobility restrictions, or PPKM Level 4, is still in place.

“Teachers in Yogya are ready because they have received vaccines, but students who have been vaccinated are still below 40 percent. So I ask not to hold face-to-face schools yet,” Sultan underlined.

However, he allowed schools to make preparations starting this August. “But don’t hold the trial yet,” Sultan HB X added.

Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Nadiem Makarim in a meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) earlier this week hoped that limited face-to-face learning at schools would be implemented soon. Students who have not been vaccinated are also allowed to go back to school as long as the school is located in regions under PPKM Levels 1-3.

Read: Jakarta Waiting for the Right Time to Reopen Schools: Deputy Governor

PRIBADI WICAKSONO