Government confirms resumption of in-person classes after Eid holiday
He said the plan to implement hybrid learning (online and offline) was cancelled due to academic considerations and the need to strengthen students’ character development.
“According to the results of the inter-ministerial meeting on March 23, learning in schools will be carried out as usual, by considering academic aspects and strengthening character education,” he informed on Wednesday.
On a separate occasion, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno stated that learning activities may continue as usual, with students being able to come to school for the learning process.
“Student learning will continue as usual,” he affirmed.
He noted that the idea of implementing a hybrid learning approach had been explored. Nevertheless, he emphasized that online learning is not a priority for now, considering the importance of preserving the quality of education.
“Based on the president’s extraordinary priority for the education sector, starting with the revitalization of schools, Sekolah Rakyat, and Sekolah Unggulan Garuda, we must accelerate improvements in the quality of education, under the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology,” he pointed out.
Pratikno then drew attention to the importance of ensuring the continuation of learning activities as usual.
According to him, the learning process must be optimized and learning loss must be avoided, by continuing face-to-face school for students.
“Similar to the essential medical services that will continue to operate normally,” he stated.
Earlier, the idea of shifting school learning activities to online starting April 2026 emerged in line with the government’s energy efficiency policy.
Deputy Chair of Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), MY Esti Wijayanti, expressed her disagreement with the idea, saying that online learning is less effective for school students.
“We adopted online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we know that it created significant challenges for our education system,” she stated on March 23.
The challenges include difficulties in students’ comprehension of learning materials, discipline issues, character development concerns, and technological limitations, among others.
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Translator: Hana Dewi Kinarina, Resinta Sulistiyandari