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Parents, teachers wary of 2022 ‘back to school’ push amid rise in Omicron cases
A new joint ministerial decree requires schools in regions under the lowest level of pandemic curbs to transition back to classroom learning next year.
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A child receives the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine at an elementary school in Jakarta on Dec. 15 as part of a government program to vaccinate children ages 6 to 11. (AFP/Adek Berry)
T
he government will require schools to start transitioning to in-classroom teaching starting next year, raising eyebrows among parents and teachers who worry about the threat of the Omicron COVID-19 strain.
A year and a half ago, students had to transition to online learning to ensure their education continued unhindered during the pandemic. But authorities have lamented the method’s effectiveness and its unintended consequences on child development, prompting the government to insist on going back to school.
On Dec. 23, Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim signed a joint decree with his counterparts from the Health Ministry, the Home Ministry and the Religious Affairs Ministry to address this problem.
The new decree mandates that schools in regions under the lowest level of multi-tiered public activity restrictions (PPKM) must transition back to the classroom next year, with a view toward full in-person teaching in 2023.
Whereas a previous iteration of the policy issued in March instructed schools to offer classroom learning as an option only once teachers are fully vaccinated, the new decree will soon require schools nationwide to transition to face-to-face instruction.
Schools that have inoculated more than 80 percent of their faculty and staff are allowed to open for six hours of classroom learning each day at 100 percent capacity.
These would have to be located in regencies and cities under level 1 and 2 PPKM curbs that have at least half of the elderly population fully vaccinated.
