Revisiting the Relevance of School Closure Policy as Efforts to Prevent COVID-19 Infection Among Students in Indonesia

Arnadi Arnadi

doi:10.25217/ji.v5i2.1198

Authors

Arnadi Arnadi Institut Agama Islam Sultan Muhammad Syaifuddin Sambas, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25217/ji.v5i2.1198

Keywords:

Learning from Home, School Closure Policy, Learning in Covid-19 Condition

Abstract

This article revisited the relevance of returning students home's national policy while avoiding the dangers of coronavirus 2019 in the school environment. There has been no medical certainty stating that the danger of the Coronavirus spread among schools is that the government must issue policies that are without good reason as the safest solution. On the other hand, the policy of returning students to study at home also raises some doubts. This study intended to examine various literatures on the suitability of government policies regarding school closures that have been running for almost one year. The data were then analyzed using a descriptive phenomenological approach to obtain medical reasons related to the risk of spreading the virus among school adolescents. Finally, the researchers found that the government policy to repatriate students is still motivated by excessive concern about the transmission of the epidemic among students in the school environment. Until now, the government has not had a strong reason to close schools to avoid the virus. On the other hand, this policy may impact on student learning and other socio-economic disadvantages. Thus, the government would consider these findings in evaluating policies related to overcoming the dangers of the pandemic in the school environment, which consider the disadvantages of education.

Keywords: Learning from Home, School Closure Policy, Learning in Covid-19 Condition

References

Azevedo, De, J.P.W., Hasan, Amer, Goldemberg, Diana, Iqbal, Aroob, S., Geven, Martijn, K., 2020. Simulating the Potential Impacts of COVID-19 School Closures on Schooling and Learning Outcomes : A Set of Global Estimates (English). World Bank 1. Google Sholar

Cauchemez, S., Valleron, A. J., Boelle, P. Y., Flahault, A., & Ferguson, N. M. (2008). Estimating the impact of school closure on influenza transmission from Sentinel data. Nature, 452(7188), 750-754. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06732

Fauzi, I., & Khusuma, I. H. S. (2020). Teachers’ elementary school in online learning of COVID-19 pandemic conditions. Jurnal Iqra': Kajian Ilmu Pendidikan, 5(1), 58-70. https://doi.org/10.25217/ji.v5i1.914

Fetzer, T., Witte, M., Hensel, L., Jachimowicz, J., Haushofer, J., Ivchenko, A., Caria, S., Reutskaja, E., Roth, C., Fiorin, S., 2020. Global behaviors and perceptions in the COVID-19 pandemic. Google Scholar

Flick, U. (Ed.). (2013). The SAGE handbook of qualitative data analysis. Sage. Google Scholar

Hale, T., Petherick, A., Phillips, T., Webster, S., 2020. Variation in government responses to COVID-19. Blavatnik Sch. Gov. Work. Pap. 31. Google Scholar

Ichsan, I. Z., Rahmayanti, H., Purwanto, A., Sigit, D. V., & Rahman, M. M. (2020). PEB-COVID-19: Analysis of Students Behavior and ILMIZI Model in Environmental Learning. Jurnal Iqra': Kajian Ilmu Pendidikan, 5(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.25217/ji.v5i1.901

Islam, N., Sharp, S.J., Chowell, G., Shabnam, S., Kawachi, I., Lacey, B., Massaro, J.M., D’Agostino, R.B., White, M., 2020. Physical distancing interventions and incidence of coronavirus disease 2019: natural experiment in 149 countries. bmj 370.

Ilyasa, F., Rahmayanti, H., Muzani, M., Ichsan, I. Z., & Suhono, S. (2020). Environmental Education for Prevent Disaster: A Survey of Students Knowledge in Beginning New Normal of COVID-19. International Journal on Advanced Science, Education, and Religion, 3(2), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.33648/ijoaser.v3i2.60

Kucharski, A. J., Russell, T. W., Diamond, C., Liu, Y., Edmunds, J., Funk, S., ... & Davies, N. (2020). Early dynamics of transmission and control of COVID-19: a mathematical modelling study. The lancet infectious diseases. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30144-4

Munro, A. P., & Faust, S. N. (2020). Children are not COVID-19 super spreaders: time to go back to school. Archives of disease in childhood. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2020-319866

Putra, P., Liriwati, F. Y., Tahrim, T., Syafrudin, S., & Aslan, A. (2020). The students learning from home experiences during Covid-19 school closures policy in Indonesia. Jurnal Iqra': Kajian Ilmu Pendidikan, 5(2), 30-42. https://doi.org/10.25217/ji.v5i2.1019

Sahu, P. (2020). Closure of universities due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): impact on education and mental health of students and academic staff. Cureus, 12(4). https://dx.doi.org/10.7759%2Fcureus.7541

Setiawan, A.R., 2020. Scientific Literacy Worksheets for Distance Learning in the Topic of Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). Google Scholar

Sheikh, A., Sheikh, A., Sheikh, Z., & Dhami, S. (2020). Reopening schools after the COVID-19 lockdown. Journal of global health, 10(1). https://dx.doi.org/10.7189%2Fjogh.10.010376

Siryeh, A.D., 2020. Establishing effective school policy on discipline and attendance in secondary schools in Liberia (PhD Thesis). Notre Dame University-Louaize. Google Scholar

Spires, R.W., 2020. How Other Countries Reopened Schools during the Pandemic–And What the US can Learn from Them. The Conversation. Google Scholar

Stein-Zamir, C., Abramson, N., Shoob, H., Libal, E., Bitan, M., Cardash, T., ... & Miskin, I. (2020). A large COVID-19 outbreak in a high school 10 days after schools’ reopening, Israel, May 2020. Eurosurveillance, 25(29), 2001352. Google Scholar

Surani, D., & Hamidah, H. (2020). Students Perceptions in Online Class Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic. International Journal on Advanced Science, Education, and Religion, 3(3), 83-95. https://doi.org/10.33648/ijoaser.v3i3.78

Todo, V., n.d. Medidas para que los administradores de escuelas de kínder a 12. ^o grado se preparen para reabrir de manera segura en el otoño del 2020 Medidas para que los administradores de escuelas de kínder a 12. ^o grado se preparen para reabrir de manera segura en el otoño del 2020. Google Scholar

Viner, R.M., Russell, S.J., Croker, H., Packer, J., Ward, J., Stansfield, C., Mytton, O., Bonell, C., Booy, R., 2020. School closure and management practices during coronavirus outbreaks including COVID-19: a rapid systematic review. Lancet Child Adolesc. Health 4, 397–404. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30095-X