Bandung –
The Mayor of Bandung Muhammad Farhan stated that his administration has not yet analyzed the directive from West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi regarding school start time at 06:00 WIB. He admitted that there is a need to study this regulation further.
“Starting at 6 in the morning hasn’t been analyzed yet, I am still waiting for the review. Once the review is complete, we will announce our stance,” Farhan said, Tuesday (6/3/2025).
He mentioned that further study is needed as there are many consequences that need to be anticipated. One of them is the availability of public transportation in the morning.
“Starting school at 6 am has many consequences. Not all public transport may be operational at 5 am. Even school buses only start operating at 8 am. I need to evaluate all of this,” he explained.
According to him, the new regulation will heavily depend on the readiness of Bandung City government in preparing public transportation at necessary times. Moreover, students are currently asked to commute to school independently.
“In the future, it seems it will be linked to the city government’s readiness to provide subsidies for transportation. Because one of the goals (of the morning school time) is also to prevent kids from being dropped off at school,” he explained.
Regarding school buses, he said that he needs to further coordinate with the Bandung City Transportation Office for the potential reactivation of the fleet. Currently, it is known that some school bus units have been damaged due to flooding.
“We will review it together with the Transportation Office, because some buses were parked for too long and were submerged in the flood. There are several units that are not operating. If they are to be reactivated, we must calculate the costs of repair, maintenance, and also the salaries for the drivers,” he elaborated.
Farhan stated that one of the regulations that will soon be implemented in Bandung City is the control of mobile phone or gadget usage among students. In the future, students will be prohibited from using gadgets during school hours.
“The regulation that will soon be implemented is the control of mobile phone usage. I am discussing with the newly appointed headmasters to manage mobile phone usage during school hours,” he explained.
He gave an example, where students will be asked to collect their gadgets in a specific place. These gadgets can only be retrieved when they are about to go home.
“As soon as they enter school, phones are collected, and they can only take them back after school ends. However, there has to be an arrangement to ensure phones are not mixed up or lost,” he explained.
(sud/sud)
