About 68 million Indonesian students affected by COVID-19 impact

Data on students affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the world and in the country. (ANTARA / (Muhammad Zulfikar)

Some 1.25 billion students across the world have been affected (by the outbreak), while around 5.44 percent of that number are in Indonesia.

Jakarta (ANTARA) - A screen grab from an online discussion held on August 4, 2020 shows data on students affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. (ANTARA/Muhammad Zulfikar/sw)

The Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs has revealed that about 68 million students — from preschoolers to high school students — in Indonesia have been affected by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, requiring them to learn from home.

“Some 1.25 billion students across the world have been affected (by the outbreak), while around 5.44 percent of that number are in Indonesia," Jumeri, the director-general of preschool, elementary and middle schools at the ministry, noted during an online discussion held on Tuesday.

Around 10 percent of the the 68 million Indonesian students, or about 6.87 million, are preschoolers.

Meanwhile, about 13 million people have turned into "home-school teachers" during the pandemic.

“Under the learn-from-home scheme, parents hold some 75 percent of the responsibility (for their kids' studies), while 25 percent is the teachers' role," Jumeri noted.

According to a survey conducted by the ministry, around 10 thousand preschool teachers across 34 provinces in the country are passing on 35 percent of the home-learning assignments to parents.

“Thus, the teachers are asking parents to deliver some lessons to their children," Jumeri said, adding that 19.9 percent of the learning is being disseminated by the public television of TVRI through its learning program. (INE)

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