Amid daily increases in coronavirus cases in the archipelago – only a month after its implementation – a revised joint decree that allows for more schools to reopen was issued on Friday. This time around they will allow schools located in yellow zones with low COVID-19 risk to reopen.

The government has color-coded the COVID-19 infection condition for regions across Indonesia with green, yellow, orange and red. Green zones are for areas that have zero cases of COVID-19 infection, yellow zones for areas that have low COVID-19 risk, orange zones for areas with moderate COVID-19 risk and red zones are areas that have high risk of the disease.

“We are allowing face-to-face learning in schools but not forcing it,” Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim repeatedly said during a media conference on Friday, “So, it doesn’t mean that when the schools are in green or yellow zones, then they are obliged to open.”

Quoting his ministry data, Nadiem said currently 57 percent of the student population lives in red and orange zones and the remaining 43 percent in green and yellow zones across 276 regencies and cities.

“Many of these 43 percent of the student population live in the country’s outermost, frontline and disadvantaged regions,” the minister said.

Like the reopening policy for schools in green zones, Nadiem said, the final say on whether to open the schools or not would be fully decided by the schools, the respective local administration and the respective education agency.

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