UNS — Commemorating the National Education Day (Hardiknas), the Student Executive Board of Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (BEM FKIP) Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta held a public discussion on ‘Reviewing the Readiness of Face-to-Face Meeting: How Far Are We Ready?’. The event was held through the Zoom Cloud Meeting application and live-streamed in the BEM FKIP UNS YouTube account on Sunday (2/5/2021).
Dwi Ariyanto, S.STP., the Secretary of Surakarta Education Office, represented the Major of Surakarta, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, attended the event as a speaker. Dwi discussed the education service in Surakarta amid the Covid-19 pandemic. He explained that his office had issued at least 18 circular letters for the community concerning online learning. “Especially for parents regarding the learning dynamics that need to carry on despite the contradicting statements,” Dwi explained.
The Municipal Government of Surakarta took several policies to support online learning. These policies include learning from home, school activities limitation, implementation of health protocols, online learning, school sterilization, curriculum adjustment, grading system revision, online new students admission process, adjustment of school tuition fees, and stipulation of learning media and learning sources standard.
At the beginning of online learning implementation, schools and students faced several issues. For instance, teachers experienced difficulty determining the learning method, limited internet access and phone for students. In addition, parents were not ready to accompany students learning from home, and teachers gave too many assignments to students.
The Municipal Government of Surakarta considered several solutions to solve the issues. The solutions including the distribution of ± 3,000 phones for students, besides laptops and tablets. The government also suggested that teachers build good communication with parents on the importance of parental advisory when children learn at home and not give heavy assignments for students. The government also attempted to improve teacher’s competencies and provide adequate new references.
Concluding his session, Dwi reminded university students to keep their idealism to continue learning and serving the community. “Apply the health protocols to support government efforts in handling Covid-19 outbreak and (we) can work like before (before the pandemic),” he reminded. Humas UNS
Reporter: Zalfaa Azalia Pursita
Editor: Dwi Hastuti