"(A COVID-19 task force is important because) a safe and secure school is our priority," the ministry's Director for Elementary Schools Sri Wahyuningsih said during a dialogue between the Communication and Informatics Ministry-affiliated Merdeka Barat 9 Forum and the National COVID-19 Handling Task Force, which was accessed from Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi on Thursday.
Establishing a COVID-19 task force in every school is essential for health protocol enforcement monitoring at the school and assuring the health of students and teachers, she explained.
"All relevant parties should also collaborate to ensure the implementation of offline school activities. Schools should also request parental consent before deciding on school reopening," Wahyuningsih said.
School teachers should strive to provide equal quality of class activities for students not joining offline school activities due to lack of parental consent, she added.
Vaccination of teachers and school officials is an essential precondition for school reopening, as students have only recently become eligible for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, while adults have been eligible for some time now, Wahyuningsih reiterated.
She urged all parties relevant to school activities, including teachers, school administrators, and eligible students, to get vaccinated if they do not have any health issues or other conditions which prevent them from receiving the vaccine.
Regional governments have recently begun allowing schools to reopen for face-to-face learning following an improvement in the activities restrictions enforcement (PPKM) level in their regions since the end of August 2021.
Around 39 per cent of around 270 thousand school units nationwide have reopened and commenced offline learning activities, Wahyuningsih informed.
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Translator: M Harianto, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Sri Haryati
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