In Indonesia, most schools continue to teach online due to the effects of the new coronavirus. In order to reduce the burden of communication costs, the government has started “free data communication of up to 50 gigabytes (GB) every month”. The start-up is a 36-year-old venture founder who was appointed as a minister because he was popular with young people. (Jakarta = English text Nogami)
Online lessons, mostly on smartphones
“Congratulations. The Ministry of Education and Culture’s” Internet distribution subsidy “is valid. The deadline is 30 days.”
Amalia Dinanti (20), who studies English literature at Lampung University in Sumatra, western Indonesia, received a message from the government on her smartphone on September 22nd. All the students were informed of the subsidy from the university in advance, and the registration was completed by entering the student ID number etc. on the smartphone.
In the same country, many people pay data communication charges in a prepaid manner. Amalia always bought 14GB for 100,000 rupiah (about 710 yen) and used it for communication for 3 weeks. However, when the lectures were switched online as a countermeasure against the new corona, the time spent using smartphones at home increased, and the amount of communication was used up immediately.
The government subsidizes 35GB for elementary, junior high and high school students, 42GB for teachers, and 50GB for university students and teachers every month from September to December. 50GB is usually about 200,000 rupiah (about 1400 yen) at the cheapest, “I can take a lecture without worrying about it. It is very helpful,” Amalia said. By October 1, 28.17 million people had registered nationwide.
In Japan, face-to-face lessons have become difficult since March when the spread of infection began. The government’s response headquarters allows the resumption of face-to-face lessons from low-risk areas, but most of them have not been able to resume face-to-face classes even after the start of the new school year in July.
According to a survey conducted by the Internet Connection Providers Association in August last year, 14.4% of people are online at home. The Internet environment is centered on communication via smartphones, which is owned by more than 100 million people. In a government survey from April to May this year, 72% of respondents said that their communication expenses increased due to working from home and studying. In some cases, children have to go to places where they can use free WiFi due to the burden of communication costs.
