Grim Notes On National Children's Day 2021: Social Orphans To Educational Obstacles

Photo illustration (Source: Antara)

JAKARTA - National Children's Day 2021 is filled with somber notes. A number of problems are getting worse, including those arising from the COVID-19 pandemic: social orphans due to disease outbreaks, post-covid children to those who have lost their right to full education.

Vino, a 3rd grade elementary school boy in Linggang Village, Purworejo, West Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan (Kaltim) became an orphan and now has to undergo independent isolation at home. The mother, Lina Safitri (31) died on Monday, July 19 in a condition of five months pregnant.

One day later, his father, Kino Raharjo (31) followed Lina to leave Vino. Lina and Kino died while undergoing intensive care due to COVID-19 infection at the Harapan Insan Sendawar Hospital, West Kutai. Unlike his parents. Vino, who is asymptomatic, is self-isolating at home.

Vino's neighbor, Mistari, explained that Vino is physically healthy but has been hit psychologically. According to Mistari who monitors Vino, night is the darkest time because night is the time Vino usually gathers with his parents. Now Vino is being cared for by his uncle, Margono and other closest neighbors.

"Vino's father is a traveling pentol seller by profession. Here (the house) there are several (pentol) sellers as well. All are overseas from Java. The houses are side by side there. They take care of Vino," Mistari, quoted by Kompas.com, Friday, July 23.

Vino is not the only child who has lost his parents due to the pandemic. The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) estimates that the number of orphans, orphans and orphans like Vino is in the thousands. The estimation is seen from the high death rate in Indonesia.

Photo illustration (Egor Myznik/Unsplash)

Data on Friday, July 23, recorded 1,566 confirmed positive COVID-19 deaths. With this addition, the accumulated data on deaths of COVID-19 patients in Indonesia reached 80,598 people. KPAI urges the government to produce derivative data about children who are orphans, orphans or orphans.

The unavailability of valid data is a problem. Whereas abandoned children are the responsibility of the state. KPAI Commissioner Retno Listyarti suspects the government has failed to break its focus. Pandemic is not only about controlling transmission but also about handling impacts, including the social context.

"I think the government is not aware because it is busy with efforts to control (the spread of the virus). Maybe many people also don't understand how this pandemic has made underage children lose one or both of their parents. these children need help," Retno, quoted by DW.

Before Indonesia, the country most highlighted as the epicenter of the pandemic was India. But, no matter how desperate India is, they have not gone too far in mitigating the social impact of the deaths of many parents. India's Minister of Women and Children's Affairs Smirti Irani shared the data on Twitter.

577 children had lost both their parents to Covid as reported by the states until 2 PM on 25.5.21. The list included 17 children reported by Rajasthan. GOI is in receipt of official communication from Rajasthan dated 28.5.21 intimating number of Covid orphans in the state as 24. https://t.co/S4eg3wKkXj

— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) June 1, 2021

"The question is what to do with these children? In my opinion, what to do, the data is not clear," said Retno.

"The government needs to immediately carry out data mapping. After the data is available, we can only do something to fulfill their rights," he added.

Post-covid kids

COVID-19 tends to cause milder symptoms in pediatric patients. This is supported by data from the World Health Organization (WHO), which in general explains that the need for hospitalization in pediatric patients is much lower.

But the case of a child in England reported by CNN deserves attention. The child actually had a cough for months after being infected with COVID-19. And doctors diagnosed it as a post-covid fatigue condition.

Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Dr Anthony Fauci also explained the post-covid situation that children are more vulnerable to. Even Fauci said several children died because of post-covid.

Anthony Fauci (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Not only that. A small number of pediatric and adolescent patients who have contracted COVID-19 and were treated in the United States (US), Great Britain, Italy, and a number of other countries show rare conditions.

The condition is called multisystem inflammatory syndrome or MIS-C, which is a potential complication that a person experiences after infection with COVID-19. This potential complication is even more dangerous in children with hyper-inflammatory syndrome.

Children with hyper-inflammatory syndrome usually show symptoms of severe pain. Because it is usually they who need medical care. Research continues to be done about post-covid conditions in children.

Can't get a full education

More than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic, six thousand schools closed and forced 60 million children to undergo distance learning. Now through the Joint Decree (SKB) of the Four Ministers, the government is again designing face-to-face education. The term 'hybrid'.

The scheme of teaching and learning activities is determined based on zoning. Schools in green areas are allowed to hold face-to-face education with strict health protocols. While schools in the red zone are prohibited.

The Ministry of Education and Culture realizes that not a few Indonesian children are constrained in distance learning. This has a direct impact on the implications of education in Indonesia, ranging from a decrease in learning motivation, literacy and numeracy to the most serious threat of dropping out.

A global study by Save the Children in July 2020 showed that eight out of ten children were unable to access adequate learning materials. Another variable, four out of ten children have difficulty understanding homework.

Distance learning (Source: Antara)

Another, one percent of children do not even learn anything during distance learning. The survey was conducted in 46 countries of the world. "The year 2021 must be a year that ensures children continue to have access to quality learning."

"Because education is a child's right that must be fulfilled and is also the key to building the Indonesian generation," said Selina Patta Sumbung, CEO of Save the Children Indonesia.

Distance learning also encounters a number of other challenges that are holistically experienced by all involved in educational activities, from children, teachers to parents. The obstacles, for example, are limited tools, materials and access to learning and teaching.

In addition, infrastructure issues such as internet access, roads, and electricity are also a problem. Others, the skills of the teacher, the ability of parents to accompany children to learn and even the children themselves have not been developed in adapting the practice of PJJ and independent learning.

Still from the same survey, the creation of a safe and comfortable learning environment is also a problem. As many as 63 percent of girls claimed to be more burdened with homework. This is in line with the recognition of 23 percent of parents who feel pressured to raise children in a pandemic situation.