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Omicron threat prompts calls to review at-school learning
The government faces pressure to prioritize COVID-19 vaccinations for children prior to resuming full-capacity online learning amid a rise in cases of the Omicron variant.
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A child receives the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine at an elementary school in Jakarta on Dec. 15, 2021, as part of a government program to vaccinate children aged 6 to 11.
(AFP/Adek Berry)
T
he nationwide push for a physical return to school at full capacity has met a roadblock, as Indonesia’s COVID-19 caseload slowly rises again and the potential for changes in activity curbs puts pressure on authorities to reconsider.
Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim and three of his ministerial colleagues previously set out requirements for schoolchildren to resume classroom instruction nationwide, after about a year-and-a-half of distance learning that authorities have deemed ineffective.
Under a joint ministerial decree issued on Dec. 21, 2021, all schools, whether private, public or religious, are required to resume classroom learning by the second semester of the 2021/2022 academic year.
Read also: Parents, teachers wary of 2022 'back to school' push amid rise in Omicron cases
But with Indonesia reporting 92 new cases of the Omicron strain on Monday, which brought the national tally for the highly contagious variant to 506 cases, the government is feeling increasing public pressure to scale back its policy.
Of the reported case figures, 84 were locally transmitted.
The uptick in Omicron cases is thought to have resulted in a higher daily national caseload, which crept up to 802 on Tuesday, the highest in close to three months.
