Learning Loss A Major Concern; Govt Insists on Reopening Schools

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim on Monday said the government is not necessarily worried about the potential Covid-19 transmission as it reopens classrooms for physical attendance schooling (PTM) as it has prepared surveillance strategies to evaluate this decision.

However, Makarim said the government is more concerned about learning loss as it has been so long since the academic world conducted physical schooling.

“I am even more worried about the fact that there are only 40 percent of schools conducting physical attendance. This means there are 60 percent of schools permitted to conduct PTM but have not,” said Makarim in an online press conference on September 27.

He noted a research showing how significant learning loss would be, especially among primary school students if remote learning is extended even further.

The education ministry previously stated there are 2.8 percent or 1,296 education units reporting Covid-19 cases at school facilities which are based on a survey across 46,500 schools since July 20, 2020, up to September 20, 2021. 

Nadiem Makarim views the aforementioned statistic as a rather insignificant issue since it is an accumulation of the past 14 months, starting before remote learning was imposed. One notable strategy in the government’s surveillance is to conduct random sampling and close down certain schools once confirmed Covid-19 cases reach 5 percent. 

Read: Nadiem Makarim More Worried about Learning Loss than COVID-19 Trends at Schools

DEWI NURITA