Sragen regency administration in Central Java will reopen 63 elementary and junior high schools in 20 districts on Monday despite increasing transmission of COVID-19 in the country.
“What we can take away from the last simulation is that health protocols have been implemented very well in schools. However, because of the situation, face-to-face learning can only be applied in some schools,” Sragen administration secretary Tatag Prabawanto said on Monday.
The head of Sragen’s education agency, Suwardi, said the agency had chosen three schools – state and private schools – in each district that would start conventional instruction in classrooms. For Sragen city district, however, only six schools would be permitted to reopen.
The school reopenings in Sragen, according to Suwardi, was based on an agreement with parents, who are allowing their children to go back to school.
Sragen regency has seen a surge in COVID-19 infections in the last two weeks, with 89 new confirmed cases, bringing the total tally in the regency to 208 cases out of the nationwide tally of 172,053 as of Sunday.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic showing no signs of slowing, a poll by Cyrus Network in July suggested that the majority of respondents (80.2 percent of 1,230 respondents) were in favor of schools reopening.
Previously, the Federation of Teachers Associations (FSGI) expressed concern that the reopening of schools would increase the risk of COVID-19 infections, especially after the group received reports that at least 180 teachers and students across the nations had tested positive for COVID-19.
Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim has fended off criticism, saying that the policy was a necessary trade-off to maintain students’ spirit in a time of crisis. (trn)
