"We appreciate the efforts of the Tangerang city government in forming a class COVID-19 task force. This can be an example for other regions, especially those that have been carrying out face-to-face learning, as a mitigation for preventing (infection) clusters in classes and schools," the ministry's director general of early childhood education, basic education, and secondary education, Jumeri, said in Tangerang city on Friday.
He noted that face-to-face learning in Tangerang city has gone well, and the Education Office has carried out the instructions stipulated by his office.
He said he expected the Tangerang city government's efforts to form a COVID-19 task force for each class to be replicated in other regions because currently, his office is only recommending a school-level COVID-19 task force.
A class-level COVID-19 task force will facilitate supervision by homeroom teachers, and if a COVID-19 case is found, the issue can be addressed immediately through the principal's policy, he explained.
"When this class task force is formed, a monitoring map will appear that will make it easy to trace if a COVID-19 case is found. This step by the Tangerang city government is very effective," he remarked.
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Meanwhile, Tangerang Mayor Arief R Wismansyah said the formation of the class task force was part of COVID-19 prevention measures, even though the recommendation was only for a school task force.
"The suggestion was that there be a school-level task force. Now, the city of Tangerang has formed a task force in the classroom so that it is on a smaller scale so that supervision will be more optimal," he informed.
He said his administration has advised students to follow the health protocols so that face-to-face learning can run smoothly. If cases of COVID-19 emerge, the school would be closed, he pointed out.
"So, we continue to remind students to always be disciplined because this face-to-face learning requires the cooperation of all parties in implementing the health protocols," he added.
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Translator: Achmad Irfan, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Suharto
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