Maretha Uli, Jakarta – The government has scrapped a plan to implement hybrid learning as part of austerity measures to reduce energy consumption, after lawmakers and observers raised concerns over potential learning loss as a result of the policy.

The disruption to global oil supplies due to the United States-Israeli war on Iran has raised the commodity's prices above the initial assumption in the state budget. This in turn prompted the government to ready energy saving measures, including work from home for employees.

The plan initially included adopting mixed online-offline learning for both secondary schools and universities starting in April, as Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Pratikno announced on March 17 after a cabinet meeting.

But exactly a week later on March 24, Pratikno said learning at schools would continue as usual, saying the hybrid learning policy was "not an urgent necessity at this time".

He also emphasized the prioritization of in-person learning to avoid learning loss, which refers to a decline in academic skills and knowledge or a reversal in academic progress.

"As the President prioritizes education, including with programs such as the school revitalization, Sekolah Rakyat [community school] and Garuda School [initiatives], we must accelerate improvements in overall education quality. This is the main priority," Pratikno said in a statement on Tuesday.

Elementary and Secondary Education Minister Abdul Mu'ti also confirmed that the energy saving measures would not affect schools.

"Learning at schools will proceed as usual, based on academic considerations and efforts to strengthen character education," Mu'ti said on Wednesday.

The hybrid learning plan previously drew criticism from lawmakers and observers.

Maria Yohana Esti Wijayanti, deputy chair of House of Representatives Commission X overseeing education, said the method had proved inefficient when it was imposed at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that students experienced difficulty in absorbing lessons, maintaining discipline and navigating technological constraints.

"We all know the system left complex problems for our education sector," the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician said on Monday, as quoted by Antara.

The day after, fellow Commission X member Lalu Hadrian Irfani, who hails from the National Awakening Party (PKB), said education quality must not be sacrificed to save energy. He instead urged the government to conduct a comprehensive assessment of academic targets, the technology access gap in education and student health before implementing hybrid learning at schools nationwide.

An elementary school student holds up a smartphone to try and get a better internet connection on May 8, 2020, during a group online learning session in a village in Yogyakarta. (AFP/Agung Supriyanto)

Anggi Afriansyah, an education researcher at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), echoed these concerns. He argued that if it was implemented prematurely, hybrid learning would only create new problems, such as parents being unavailable to accompany their children consistently while learning online from home.

"To maintain learning effectiveness, hybrid learning should only be a last option" of the efficiency measures, Anggi said on Tuesday.

Rather than disrupting education, Ubaid Matraji of the Network for Education Watch (NEW) Indonesia said the austerity measures should be directed instead at President Prabowo Subianto's flagship free nutritious meal program.

The national feeding program, which targets schoolchildren and pregnant women, has been allocated Rp 335 trillion (US$19.83 billion) in this year's state budget.

A large portion of this fund is drawn from the education budget, which comprises 20 percent of the state budget as constitutionally mandated, and multiple plaintiffs are currently challenging the fund's composition at the Constitutional Court.

The program has become a point of contention in conversations on further austerity measures to keep the state budget deficit below 3 percent amid rising global oil prices due to the ongoing war in the Middle East.

During a sit-down with senior journalists and experts on March 17 at his private residence in Hambalang, West Java, Prabowo affirmed that the free meals program would continue to meet children's nutritional needs, regardless of the war.

"I am absolutely convinced I am on the right path," the President said during the gathering, a video of which was uploaded on March 22 to his official YouTube channel Prabowo Subianto (@djojohadikusumo).

"We have the money. [...] There are still many other ways we can save."

Source: https://asianews.network/indonesian-government-drops-hybrid-learning-from-energy-saving-measures