Ombudsman Warns Of Plans To Open DKI-West Java Schools, Do Not Let It Become A New COVID-19 Cluster

Offline education in remote areas (Photo: Special)

JAKARTA - The Jakarta Raya Representative Ombudsman has warned the DKI and West Java Provincial Governments in planning to open schools with face-to-face learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Head of the Jakarta Ombudsman Representative, Teguh Nugroho, said that regional governments in DKI and West Java, especially buffer areas such as Bogor, Depok, and Bekasi, must ensure strict implementation of health protocols when conducting trials for school opening so that new clusters of COVID-19 transmission occur.

"We are worried that a pilot program that is not able to be handled properly will actually become the center of the spread of a new variant of the new COVID-19, namely the school cluster", Teguh said in his statement, Wednesday, March 24.

The Ombudsman's concern is based on the results of impromptu inspections on the implementation of face-to-face learning (PTM) in 170 educational institutions in Bogor Regency.

Teguh said that it turns out that the Bogor Regency Government is experiencing difficulties in the process of enforcing technical guidelines, providing facilities and infrastructure, as well as monitoring its health protocols.

One of the obstacles is that there is no assessment of the antigen swab test as a basic basis and a medical examination for teachers to ensure they do not have comorbidities.

"It is suspected that the local government does not have enough budget to carry out antigen swab tests and teacher health checks because of the large number of schools involved in the PTM pilot", Teguh said.

Another impact, continued Teguh, of the many schools involved in the PTM pilot, many schools were weak in carrying out the supervisory function.

"We find schools that are not sterile from our five traders who sell in front of the school, also schools where students carry out learning and sports activities without wearing masks, and students who go and return from school using motorbikes and public transportation," he explained.

Based on the findings of the Jakarta Raya Ombudsman inspection, Teguh is concerned that these findings are the tip of the iceberg of weak oversight.