Education Startup ‘Cakap’ Users Increased Up to Five Times

During the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia, Cakap noted an increase of more than 5 times the number of users. Compared to the previous year in the same quarter, there was a 3200% increase in traffic to Cakap.

“Cakap has proven that the community can still be productive even though they are active at home. The increase in visits and download rates on the Cakap application also shows that the various initiative programs carried out by the Cakap team are in demand by the community. I hope that the Cakap application can continue to provide benefits for the community as an alternative in positive activities,” Tomy Yunus, CEO of Cakap said in his written statement on Tuesday (2/6/2020).

Even so, the company did not specify how many users it has now. Able to actively engage with various stakeholders ranging from business actors, organizations, and government to overcome the impact of the pandemic so that it remains productive while at home.

Among them is providing access to free English learning for students throughout Indonesia through the Captured Goes to School program. This activity has been attended by various schools from various regions, such as Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, to Pekalongan, Central Java.

Provide an Online English Training with the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy

In addition, Cakap also collaborates with the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy to provide English language training online. The training was held to prepare MSME and tourism practitioners for six months, starting from May to November with duration of 50 minutes each.

The selection was carried out at the end of April and was able to capture as many as 600 people, then after going through the screening process and then 100 people passed and were divided into 10 groups. Participants are representatives of tourism actors who mostly work as tour guides, homestay managers, and members of tour-aware groups.

The material provided ranged from basic English conversation to promoting tourist attractions, specifically at 5 Super Priority Destination locations. This program is expected to prepare more competent human resources to prepare themselves during the new normal period.

This program is expected to be able to prepare more competent human resources to prepare themselves during the new normal period. Meanwhile, Cakap CEO Tomy Yunus said, “Cakap has proven that people can still be productive, even though they are active at home.”

“The increase in visits and download numbers on the Cakap application also shows that various initiative programs that have been carried out by the Cakap team are in demand by the community,” he continued.

The School Opening Initiative was Rejected by Various Groups

The Indonesian government has planned rules in preparing for a new or normal life phase. A total of 4 provinces and 25 districts and cities are preparing to carry out activities with the health protocol. In addition, the Ministry of Health will work closely with the Ministry of Religion and the Ministry of Education to create health protocols for the education sector.

However, a number of parties said they would refuse if children attend school in the near future, including the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA), the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), the Bandung Parent Student Forum, and the Executive Board of the Indonesian Teachers Association (PB PGRI) ).

While PB PGRI Chair, Dudung Nurullah Koswara, in his official statement received by Siar’s editorial said “Instead of opening schools during the Covid-19 pandemic, the government should make new learning patterns more effective. Independent learning patterns that make it easier for students, teachers, and parents to get involved.”

The refusal was also done by the students’ parents, according to the KPAI Commissioner survey, Retno Listyarti. As many as 71% of respondents said they did not agree with the opening plan. The survey was not obtained from parents only, but also teachers and health workers.