Answering Children's Longing, Social Minister Risma Promises To Provide Signal Transmitter Tower On Buffer Island, Batam City

Social Minister Tri Rismaharini presented a plan to provide a transmitter tower to help school children in Bertam Island, Batam City (Via ANTARA)

BATAM - The Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) will help provide supporting facilities for online learning activities on the buffer islands of Gara, Lingka and Bertam in the Batam City area, Riau Islands Province.

This was revealed by Social Minister Tri Rismaharini or Risma when meeting children including members of the marine tribe on Bertam Island, Batam, Tuesday, June 7. The aid facility is in the form of a signal transmitting tower.

"It is indeed difficult to find teachers, but I offered to temporarily install transmitting towers on three islands (Gara, Lingka, and Bertam)," said Risma as quoted by Antara. "We will build towers and children can learn to use big screens on three islands," he said.

He explained that the government would provide signal transmitting towers and open access for children in Gara, Lingka, and Bertam Islands to take part in online learning activities from the main schools in the city.

"Later, they can still take class promotion exams at the main school. So, later the children will be enrolled in branch schools that will be appointed by the mayor," he said.

"Children when studying (following distance learning) usually stay here, they don't go anywhere. Later maybe the teacher once a month or twice a month comes and teaches here directly," he added.

The Minister of Social Affairs stated that the provision of facilities and infrastructure to support the implementation of teaching and learning activities remotely via online would be more practical than providing ships to transport children from the buffer islands to the main schools in the city.

"Because if I help give the ship, then who will pay for the fuel? Who will pay for the driver? Who will also pay for the maintenance? So that's the problem. So in my opinion, the solution was the best," he said.

According to him, the Ministry of Social Affairs will immediately provide assistance in providing transmitter towers to support the implementation of online teaching and learning activities for children on the buffer island of Batam.

"We will do that immediately, if it's easy. So now we want to check where the location is, it's very fast, it can be a week if that. Install the tower for a while," said Risma.

Deputy Principal of the 006 Local Far Island State Elementary School Bertam Norma said that there were only four teachers teaching at his school, the only school for students from Batam's three buffer islands.

"There are four teachers, two employees, and two honorary staff," said Norma after receiving the parents of prospective students.

According to him, Bertam Island Remote Local 006 State Elementary School has four classrooms and currently has a total of 65 students from grades 1 to 6.

"So every day in the morning everyone comes in. One teacher teaches two classrooms, grade 1 to grade 3. Later they will go home at 10.00 WIB," he said.

"Meanwhile, grades 4 to 6 continue to study until 13.00 WIB. The classes are combined, the blackboards are separated," he added.

He hopes that the promise of the Minister of Social Affairs to provide a transmitting tower to support the implementation of online teaching and learning activities can be realized soon.