Yogyakarta City Government Allows 100 Percent PTM

ILLUSTRATION BETWEEN

YOGYAKARTA - The Yogyakarta City Government gave permission to schools in the area to resume face-to-face learning (PTM) with 100 percent capacity.

"Based on the evaluation carried out based on the conditions in the last few days, PTM is again allowed to be held at 100 percent capacity," said Yogyakarta Deputy Mayor Heroe Poerwadi as quoted by Antara, Monday, March 28.

He said that in the last 10 days there have been no reports of positive cases of COVID-19 from school residents, either from students, teachers, or education staff.

In addition, he said, all schools in the city of Yogyakarta were confirmed to be equipped with adequate health protocol supporting facilities to run PTM at full capacity.

"This PTM with full capacity is also expected to improve the preparation of 6th grade elementary school and 9 junior high school students who will soon undergo final exams or class promotion exams for other students," he said.

This policy applies to all levels of education that are under the authority of the Yogyakarta City Government, namely from Kindergarten, Elementary School, and Junior High School.

"This policy is still returned to schools. It depends on the readiness of each school. If you are only ready to run 50 percent of the capacity, that's okay. In principle, we give permission to hold PTM with 100 percent capacity," he said.

He emphasized that he would immediately close schools temporarily if it was later discovered that there were findings of COVID-19 cases during PTM.

When PTM was again allowed to be held at 100 percent capacity, Heroe reminded teachers, students, and parents to be responsible for implementing health protocols with discipline.

"Parents should keep their children disciplined in health protocols. If it's not urgent, then it's better to avoid traveling to areas with high cases," he said.

The head of SMP Negeri 2 Yogyakarta, Widayat Umar, said that he was still running PTM 50 percent of the total capacity by prioritizing students in grade 9 who would face the regional education standardization assessment (ASPD).

"If it is permitted, then we are waiting for the official policy from the local government to be implemented," he said.

Currently, 9th graders are taking offline learning in schools at full capacity, while 7th and 8th graders are alternately attending schools.

"The condition of the school is also a consideration because the school is not too large, so if all 600 students enter, there will be a crowd," he said.

Head of the Yogyakarta City Education, Youth and Sports Office, Budhi Asrori, said he would follow up the policy with strict supervision of schools to implement health protocols in a disciplined manner.