New Normal Learning, What Are the Challenges?

The Covid-19 pandemic is still hitting Indonesia. For roughly a year we have been applying social distancing, with restrictions on activities still in force. The various affected sectors have begun to be discussed. When will this pandemic end? Of the many sectors, the education sector is a hot topic of conversation, especially with the new policy issued by the government. After roughly a year of experiencing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and conducting online learning with its positive and negative sides, the government has finally issued a new "new normal" policy for the world of education. New normal, as a term, means carrying out activities normally while still implementing health protocols. Applying the new normal to education means reopening face-to-face learning for schools and universities. However, the government applies this policy to areas that have been confirmed as green zones. Face-to-face learning must still comply with the health protocols issued by the government.
Of course, in doing anything there are bound to be pros and cons as well as challenges and obstacles, so the government is expected to issue this policy with serious consideration because it concerns the safety and the future of the nation. According to UNESCO, in the document entitled Plan For School Reopening, there are three important elements to consider before implementing the new normal: attending to finances, improving infrastructure, and human resources. So is this new normal learning policy appropriate to implement? What possible challenges are there if new normal learning is carried out?
New normal learning requires students to meet educators directly (face to face). The challenges that may occur when new normal learning is applied include the habit of students crowding together, and habits are fairly hard to change. This habit is a challenge for schools/universities in applying health protocols to manage students with such habits so that safe conditions are created without reducing comfort, so that effective learning can take place.
Another challenge is that the new normal policy is issued when not all areas have been declared safe and the policy applies only in some areas (green zones). This is certainly an obstacle for students whose homes are far from the school/university; their areas may not yet be green zones, or there may be students whose areas are still red zones, so they worry about the threat of virus transmission on the road and so on. Doesn't this mean we are in fact helping to accelerate the spread of the Covid-19 virus? Not to mention bans on entering certain areas, especially for university students who come from outside the region or even from other islands.
The growing inequality of abilities among students, because the interaction between teachers and each student differs, is also a challenge when the new normal is applied, especially for educators. This increases the burden or workload of educators. Teachers or educators need to find a way to overcome this problem so that the teaching and learning process can run well. Besides the growing inequality of abilities among students, parents will also automatically find it difficult to help their children catch up at school, so while online learning is still taking place, parents are expected to accompany their children as they study. Face-to-face learning also makes students adapt to new habits; the old habits from online learning, which were mostly done carelessly, must be dropped whether they like it or not. Schools/universities then need to complete the facilities and infrastructure to keep the learning process running smoothly. Teachers also need to create new and enjoyable learning methods so that learning does not seem monotonous and old-fashioned.    
The government should consider the challenges that students, and even educators, will most likely face, so that they can be used as input in issuing the new normal learning policy and do not cause worry and anxiety in the middle of the learning process. Educational institutions must also play a role by working together with the government on how to issue the best policy so as not to harm some parties. If the policy is indeed deemed appropriate to implement, the government should help facilitate students and educators, because the education sector is the most important sector in building the nation's future generation.
Considering that many areas are still infected with the Covid-19 virus, the government must be more active in disseminating information and monitoring  the ongoing development of Covid-19 transmission. With this government policy, the public is expected to help by jointly complying with the social distancing policy issued by the government, so that the new normal policy can be carried out safely and comfortably. I hope this Covid-19 pandemic ends soon in Indonesia and that daily activities can proceed as they should, especially the world of education, which is the sector that produces the nation's next generation.

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