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Parents, experts urge govt to reconsider 'rushed' school reopenings in July
Vaccinating teachers alone is not enough for school reopening, according to a teachers' association.
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Students join a trial run for the return to in-classroom learning at SD Karang Raharja 02 state elementary school in Cikarang, Bekasi regency, West Java, on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. (Antara/Fakhri Hermansyah)
W
ith a mass vaccination drive for teachers underway and expected to be completed in the next three months, the government has decided to allow all schools to reopen for the new academic year in July.
However, parents have voiced their reluctance to send their children back into the classrooms as they are not part of the ongoing inoculation drive and over fears of a new, more contagious COVID-19 variant that was recently detected in the country.
Dintun, a mother of three in West Jakarta, said the government's plan was “too rushed” and reckless, and that inoculating teachers alone would not be sufficient to prevent virus transmission in schools.
“Children need protection, too, especially as they generally lack the discipline to follow health rules properly,” she told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
She would rather not risk the safety of her second, third and ninth graders by sending them to school in July, preferring that they continue online learning — as frustrating as the method can be sometimes, she added.
Read also: With no guidance, doubts loom over reopening of schools
Research suggests that children are just as likely as adults to catch COVID-19, but they are less likely to develop symptoms or suffer a severe case of the disease.
