Sekolah Tatap Muka di Jakarta jadi Sorotan Media Asing
Some Indonesian Students Return to Schools, at a Distance
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
BEL kembali berbunyi di sejumlah sekolah di DKI Jakarta, Senin [30/8], bertanda sekolah-sekolah kembali dibuka pertama kalinya sejak pandemi Covid-19 melanda Indonesia lebih dari satu tahun.
Sebanyak 610 sekolah telah lulus standarisasi yang ditetapkan oleh Dinas Pendidikan DKI Jakarta, untuk melaksanakan belajar tatap muka dengan disertai banyak tindakan pecegahan.
Pemerintah DKI Jakarta awalnya berencana untuk membuka kembali sekolah pada Juli lalu, tetapi program itu tertunda karena meningkatnya jumlah kasus Covid-19 yang dipicu oleh varian delta yang sangat menular.
"Kami telah melewati puncak gelombang kedua infeksi Covid-19," kata Wakil Gubernur DKI Jakarta, Ahmad Riza Patria, Senin, seraya menambahkan bahwa para pejabat berharap untuk membuka kembali semua sekolah pada Januari.
Jumlah sekolah yang kembali dibuka di Jakarta hanya sekitar sepuluh persen dari total sekolah yang ada yakni 5.341, mulai dari SD hingga SMA, berdasarkan data pemerintah DKI Jakarta.
Beberapa siswa mengaku gugup, tetapi merasa senang juga karena dapat bertemu kembali dengan teman-teman mereka, seperti Akila Malawa dan Amalwin Harjodisastra, dua pelajar SMP Suluh Jakarta.
Pembelajaran tatap muka yang berlaku saat ini, akan dipadukan dengan pembelajaran jarak jauh dan secara bertahap ditingkatkan berdasarkan evaluasi situasi oleh pemerintah. Siswa SD pada awalnya akan bersekolah tiga hari seminggu, siswa SMP empat hari dan siswa SMA lima hari, semuanya dengan periode kelas yang dipersingkat seperti dikutip Associated Press yang dilansir MailOnline.
Sekolah di beberapa kota lain juga dibuka kembali Senin.
Saat sekolah dimulai kembali, pedoman pemerintah telah mengubah banyak tradisi kelas. Dilarang mengobrol di dalam kelas, wajib memakai masker setiap saat dan tidak boleh keluar kelas untuk istirahat. Sekolah harus memangkas kapasitas kelas hingga 50% dengan mengadakan kelas dalam dua shift. Guru harus divaksinasi.
SCHOOL bells rang in parts of Indonesia´s capital for the first time in more than a year on Monday as schools shut by the coronavirus were allowed to begin reopening as cases decline.
A total of 610 schools that passed standards set by the Jakarta Education Agency reopened their doors, though with many precautions still in place.
In-person schooling will be blended with remote learning and gradually increased based on the government´s evaluation of the situation. Elementary students will initially attend school three days a week, junior high students four days and high school students five days, all with shortened class periods.
The city administration initially planned to reopen schools in June, but postponed the restart when a wave of infections triggered by the highly contagious delta variant engulfed the country.
"We have passed the peak of the second wave of COVID-19 infections," Jakarta Vice Governor Ahmad Riza Patria said Monday, adding that officials hope to reopen all schools by January.
There are 5,341 schools ranging from elementary to high school in Jakarta, according to government data.
"I feel nervous," said Akila Malawa, a 12-year-old student going to class for the first time in more than a year at Suluh junior high school. "But I´m so happy to see my friends again."
"I hope the coronavirus in Indonesia will end so I can go to school and meet friends every day," said her classmate, Amalwin Harjodisastra.
Schools in several other cities also reopened Monday.
As schools restart, government guidelines have changed many class traditions. Chatting in class is not allowed, facemasks must be worn at all times and no one can leave class for recess. Schools must slash class capacity by 50% by holding classes in two shifts. Teachers must be vaccinated.
The Health Ministry reported 5,436 new infections on Monday, the lowest daily total since June 9. They have declined since new cases peaked on July 15, when more than 56,000 were recorded.
Indonesia, the world´s fourth most populous country, has recorded more than 4 million cases since the pandemic began. It took 15 months for it to hit 2 million confirmed cases on June 21, and just over nine weeks to hit double that amount last week.
Jakarta, once the country´s COVID-19 center, has recorded declines in active and new cases since mid-July, from more than 100,000 active cases to below 8,000 a day and from more than 10,000 new cases per day to below 500.
Patients are no longer being turned away from hospitals as bed occupancy rates have declined in several regions. The Central Jakarta Health Service says the occupancy rate in several Jakarta hospitals is now below 30%.
Restrictions on public activities, which the government credits with helping reduce pressure on hospitals, are being eased in the capital. Authorities have reopened malls, places of worship and outdoor sporting venues since mid-August with capacity limits, and people must show they´ve been vaccinated.
Last month, Indonesia began vaccinating those aged between 12 and 18.
Indonesia began immunizations earlier than many other countries in Southeast Asia. It aims to inoculate more than 208 million of its 270 million people by March 2022. So far, authorities have fully vaccinated only 35.3 million people and partially vaccinated 26.9 million others.
