ICT Assistance is the Foundation for School Digitization to Support Merdeka Belajar

"For example, teachers can access the Merdeka Mengajar platform and use the inspirational video feature, as well as for self-training to student assessments. All data has been collected in one network and can be accessed anywhere," she explained.

In addition, there are also SIMPKB applications, TanyaBOS, and Rumah Belajar. "This Home Learning portal allows interaction between communities. Learning can be done anywhere, anytime, and with anyone. All content can be accessed and used for free," she said.

For this reason, the Ministry remains committed to continuing ICT assistance to schools to realize school digitization. This commitment is accompanied by technical guidance and training for educators.

"The priority [of training] is still for those who have received ICT assistance. We also conduct a series of webinars and make tutorials through YouTube and social media on the topic of the use of ICT to support learning transformation," explained Wahyuningtias.

This year, the Ministry will also continue the Information and Communication Technology-Based Learning (PembaTIK) program. This program is considered necessary to increase teachers' capacity and mastery of ICT.

Through the PembaTIK program, teachers can synergize all the policies of the Ministry about Merdeka Belajar, such as Guru Penggerak.

Read Also: Indonesia Bans Foreign Tourist Arrivals at Jakarta Airport as COVID-19 Spikes

Separately, teachers in several regions claimed to benefit from ICT assistance and technical guidance from the Ministry, both during distance learning and in-class learning. Now, they are more proficient in operating ICT assistance that supports teaching and learning activities.

"We, teachers, are greatly helped by this ICT assistance because it helps many things, especially working using a belajar.id account that is very synchronous. The tools provided are very supportive for various applications in the learning process," said Adoniram Benmeten (32), a teacher at SMPN 1 Mollo Utara, South Central Timor, East Nusa Tenggara.

Eva Candra Dewi Sukmawati, a teacher at SDN Muncul 1 and SDN Muncul 3, Tangerang City, is in agreement with Benmeten. She said she could prepare teaching materials by collaborating with various applications provided by the government.

"These applications help us a lot. They enable us to make learning videos and edit them by using this device too," she said.