Minister Abdul Mu'ti: Online Learning Plan Cancelled
Minister of Basic and Secondary Education Abdul Mu’ti has emphasised that the plan for online learning for school students, as one option to anticipate the impacts of the global crisis, has been cancelled.
Mu’ti stated that, based on the results of an inter-ministerial meeting, the teaching and learning process in schools will proceed in person. He also referred to the official statement from Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno on 23 March 2026.
“Learning in schools will be conducted as usual, considering academic factors,” said Mu’ti on Wednesday, 25 March 2026.
In addition, he explained that this decision was also taken based on considerations for strengthening character education for school students. “Further explanations will be provided in the Circular Letter of the Minister of Basic and Secondary Education,” he said.
Nevertheless, Mu’ti has not yet revealed more details on when and what the content of that circular letter will be.
Previously, during a cabinet meeting at the State Palace in Jakarta on Friday, 13 March 2026, President Prabowo Subianto encouraged measures to save fuel oil consumption. Prabowo also considered work-from-home policies as a step to anticipate the impacts of the global crisis stemming from the US-Israel war against Iran.
Alongside plans for work-from-home for civil servants and the private sector, the issue of online learning for students also emerged. However, recently, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno has emphasised that in-person learning is the government’s priority. According to Pratikno, amid the global crisis, the quality of education must be maintained.
Therefore, the education sector must operate optimally and, as much as possible, be conducted in person. Pratikno emphasised this in internal directives to the health and education deputy teams of the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture. He directly referred to President Prabowo Subianto’s briefing during the Full Cabinet Meeting on Friday, 13 March 2026.
Pratikno stated that Prabowo is focused on improving the quality of human resources, especially in education and health. “In the education sector, the learning process must be increasingly optimal and learning loss must not occur,” said Pratikno, quoted from a written statement on Tuesday, 24 March 2026.
The term learning loss refers to the loss of knowledge and skills, either generally or specifically, or a setback in the academic process due to certain factors. Therefore, the government prioritises the learning process for students being conducted in person.
Pratikno acknowledged that there had indeed been discussions about the possibility of using hybrid methods in the student learning process. However, inter-ministerial discussions agreed that there is currently no urgency for online learning for students.