Around 58 percent of students in Indonesia have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek).

“Around 58 percent or 26.73 million students aged six years and above, from the total 46 million students, have received the first dose of (COVID-19) vaccination,” director-general of early childhood education, basic education, and secondary education at the ministry, Jumeri, said here on Monday.

However, of the total targeted recipients, only around 37 percent have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, he noted.

Meanwhile, among educators and education personnel, 81 percent or 3.66 million out of the total 4.5 million targeted recipients have received the first dose and 3.26 million have received both vaccine doses, he added.

Starting from January 2022, all schools in regions implementing Level 1, 2, and 3 public activity restrictions (PPKM) are required to implement limited face-to-face learning, he said.

The local government may not prohibit limited face-to-face learning for schools that meet the criteria and may not impose more stringent standards for the schools, he added.

During the first half of the 2021–2022 academic year, parents or guardians of students could choose whether they wanted their children to take part in online learning or face-to-face learning, he said.

“Starting from January 2022 or the second half, it is mandatory for them to choose limited face-to-face learning,” he added.

Meanwhile, academic units that are proven to have violated the health protocols will invite administrative sanctions and will be monitored by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force or the school clinic coaching team, he informed.

The Indonesian government launched a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021, to boost people’s immunity against COVID-19.

Source: Antara News