He called on the government to prioritize the health and safety of students and teachers, saying that the ministry should have consulted with the national COVID-19 recovery committee and epidemiologists before allowing in-person learning to resume in “yellow zones”.

“I urge the government, in this case the Education and Culture Ministry, to thoroughly reassess its policy, and to take into account the feedback from the national COVID-19 recovery committee so as to prevent new COVID-19 [infection] clusters,” Bambang said in a written statement on Monday, as quoted by kompas.com.

In-person learning, he said, should serve as a last resort only if remote learning proved to be unfeasible.

He went on to say that yellow zones, or moderate-risk areas, could potentially turn into areas with higher transmission risks, namely orange or red zones, without strict adherence to existing health protocols.

The ministry has previously issued a joint ministerial decree along with the Religious Affairs Ministry, the Health Ministry and the Home Ministry that allows the reopening of schools in regions designated as green and yellow zones.

Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makariem said on Friday that school reopening in green and yellow zones must be done in compliance with the procedures established by the local COVID-19 task force in the respective regions.

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