Online university courses to become ‘next normal’ for students, Jokowi says

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has touted online courses as the default mode of learning for many university students as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shown no signs of abating anytime soon.

Speaking to a number of university rectors during a virtual Indonesian Rectors Forum conference on Saturday, Jokowi said that online lectures were but one of several ways the country’s academic community had adapted to the current health crisis, calling them part of “the next normal”.

“Online courses, which had previously been slowly implemented, have now picked up steam. Online lectures have become a new normal – even the next normal,” he remarked during his opening address.

“I believe that more innovative and productive norms will continue to emerge [amid the pandemic].”