Our main focus currently is to bring the students back to school as soon as possible, but as safely as possible.
Yogyakarta (ANTARA) - Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim is optimistic that face-to-face learning conducted in stages at schools would help to bring back the lost educational spirit.

“Bring back our educational spirit deemed to have been lost during online learning,” Makarim remarked while reviewing the direct learning activities at SD (elementary school) Muhammadiyah Jogokariyan, here on Tuesday.

Makarim is sanguine that educational issues arising during online learning can be resolved if the students go back to school.

“Motivate our children, so they are back to being disciplined and happy to meet friends,” former CEO of the ride-hailing application company Gojek stated.

Hence, the ministry is focused on bringing the students back to school at the earliest by ensuring the security aspect for them, he noted.

“Our main focus currently is to bring the students back to school as soon as possible but as safely as possible,” he affirmed.

Educational units in Indonesia should quickly revive before learning loss, student’s mental health issues, and other prolonged negative social impacts, such as dropping out of school, become permanent, according to Makarim.

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The minister then called on the regional administrations, local task forces, school committees, and parents to support direct learning by ensuring strict implementation of health protocols.

“School committees and parents play a very important role in acting as the task force at schools to ensure that the community stays disciplined in following health protocols since the schools can be shut again if the COVID-19 cluster emerges,” he stressed.

As face-to-face learning has resumed gradually, Makarim affirmed that the ministry will conduct national assessment in keeping with stringent health protocols aimed at measuring how far learning had been left behind during online teaching.

He expressed concerns if such assessment cannot be conducted this year, as it would be difficult to map the education situation, including in schools lagging behind in conducting educational activities.

“National assessment is important because if we do not know the numeracy and literacy levels or the minimum assessment, we will never know how far we have been left behind during online learning,” he emphasized.

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Translator: Luqman Hakim, Juwita Trisna R
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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