s the country celebrates National Teachers’ Day on Thursday, educators are calling on the government to pay more attention to the mounting issues that the profession faces, many of which have been exacerbated by the pandemic, from a lack of online education support to welfare issues.
A number of teachers have said they hope the government will succeed in preventing a third COVID-19 wave resulting from the upcoming year-end holidays, as they dread the possibility of returning to what they say are insufficiently supported online classes. In-person education resumed in most parts of the country in late August.
Syainal, a vocational teacher from Berau regency, East Kalimantan, described online classes as by far the most problematic aspect of teaching over the past two years.
"Schools in more developed areas might have it easier. But in Berau, we barely have internet connection," Syainal said on Tuesday.
"And because we are a vocational school, our students need practical in-person learning. So if we go back to online learning, it will be almost impossible for them to practice the skills."
For most of the pandemic, Syainal’s school relied on home visits from teachers to give students lessons and assignments. However, not all the students were accessible. Some lived in villages located seven hours away from the school.
Syainal, like many other teachers, had to limit the scope of his lesson plans for the past year of online learning to keep classes functioning and pupils in school. But this, he said, had caused learning loss among many of his students, which became obvious when they returned to in-person classes in late August.
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