East Java Governor Khofifah Reminds Students Of Vaccine Priority Ahead Of Limited Face-to-Face Learning

SURABAYA - East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa reminded regents/mayors in the province to prioritize giving vaccines to students as preparation for limited face-to-face learning (PTM).

"Regents and mayors must prioritize vaccines for students, especially SMA / SMK / Aliyah," said Khofifah at the Grahadi State building, Surabaya, quoted by Antara, Friday, August 27.

According to him, the vaccine for students and teachers in the implementation of PTM is to provide a sense of security and comfort, both for educators, families and communities.

Governor Khofifah said that in East Java, vaccination for teachers had reached 88.48 percent of the first dose and 77.74 percent of the second dose. Meanwhile, for SMA, SMK and SLB students, according to provincial authority, it still reached 7.79 percent of the first dose and 1.31 percent of the second dose.

"We report to the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries that in order to achieve 100 percent vaccination of teachers and high school/vocational students, East Java still needs more than 1.1 million doses of vaccine," he continued.

"If it is calculated starting at the age of 12 years, 3.2 million doses of vaccine are needed. Therefore, we respectfully request that the Ministry of Health immediately fulfill these needs, besides that for the general public it is still quite high," said Khofifah.

Meanwhile, regarding the limited PTM policy for SMA/SMK and SLB levels, Governor Khofifah said that education units located at level 3 and 2 areas could start.

On Monday, August 30th, we started by first making sure that everyone checked that each school's readiness had been met.

"Make sure the teachers and education personnel have been vaccinated, the education unit has obtained permission from the local district/city COVID-19 Task Force, and permission from the parents/guardians of students," he said.

The governor also emphasized that in each education unit a COVID-19 Task Force was formed in schools to educate on health protocols, as well as carry out internal supervision of PTM.

For educational units that implement limited PTM, it is carried out with a maximum capacity of 50 percent for SMA and SMK. As for SLB, a maximum of 62 percent to 100 percent by maintaining a minimum distance of 1.5 meters and a maximum of five students per class.

The implementation of limited PTM is scheduled alternately with a maximum learning duration of four hours of lessons per day with 30 minutes per lesson hour. Each student participates in limited PTM at most twice a week.