TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Regional discrepancies a challenge to five-day school policy: Minister Yohana
Change Size
Against violence – Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Susana Yembise highlights the government's efforts to combat violence against women and children during a recent discussion in Jakarta. (Tempo.co/-)
T
he Culture and Education Ministry's plan to extend school hours to eight hours per day should also take into account development discrepancies between regions, Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Yembise said on Wednesday.
“What we have here [in Jakarta] is not necessarily similar to what they have in the regions,” Yohana told reporters at the House of Representatives. She highlighted the challenges faced by schools on small islands and in remote areas.
“[The ministry] should take note of the circumstances and conditions in the regions, regarding school infrastructure and facilities,” Yohana went on, adding that she had sent a recommendation on the matter to Culture and Education Minister Muhadjir Effendy.
Read also: Ministry plans to make religious education an extracurricular activity
Muhadjir issued recently a ministerial regulation on the extension of school hours, which also regulates there will only be five school days a week. The new policy will be implemented at all education levels, except kindergarten and at religion-based schools.
It also stipulates the new policy will be implemented gradually because not all schools have adequate infrastructure and not all regions are equipped with adequate access to transportation.
Parents and education activists have raised concerns about the policy, saying that the school hours extension would exhaust children and curtail their freedom to interact with their social surroundings. (afr)
