ITB Kick-Starts Face-to-Face Learning, Prioritizing Vaccinated Students

TEMPO.CO, Bandung - The Rectorate of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) officially reopened the campus on Monday, September 27, 2021, after 18-month closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rector Reini D. Wirahadikusumah said her side was not naive to think that the pandemic had ended.

“But we take the opportunity with measurable risks, and good and gradual preparations,” Reini said at the reopening of the campus on Jalan Ganesha, Bandung.

According to him, the rectorate would evaluate face-to-face learning and the pandemic situation. “We will pull the brake if the condition does not support it. We have a strategy,” Reini added. 

He further reminded all students to get the COVID-19 vaccine as on-site studies were prioritized for vaccinated students. Based on the survey results about a month ago, she said only 70 percent of all students were vaccinated. “We will make the vaccination mandatory to enter campus,” he said.

Students from outside Bandung, meanwhile, were obliged to undergo a 14-day self-quarantine or five-day quarantine and rapid antigen testing.

ITB Deputy Rector for Academic and Student Affairs, Jaka Sembiring, also said his side had designed guidance for face-to-face learning for the academic community, including parents or student guardians. “This face-to-face learning program is not a form of euphoria, but a measured activity to improve or rebuild the academic atmosphere,” Jaka said. 

Read: ITB to Begin Hybrid Learning in October

ANWAR SISWADI (CONTRIBUTOR)