Middle School Student Literacy Crisis, Puan: Education Must Be More Than Just Figures

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, asked the government through the Ministry of Elementary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) to immediately deal with the phenomenon of junior high school (SMP) students in a number of areas that cannot read and write smoothly.

Puan asked the Government to reduce education policies that are too oriented towards the achievement of numbers, but minimal attention to the quality of students' understanding. He also encourages the development of literacy and numeracy monitoring systems that involve teachers, parents, and the school community more actively.

"Education must be more than just numbers. We need a system that not only measures achievements, but also ensures the quality of students' understanding," said Puan, Friday, July 18.

Puan emphasized that the literacy crisis that is still hitting Indonesia must be handled immediately, including through an educational mission approach that is integrated with the direction of national development. He assessed that basic literacy skills are the main foundation in building superior human resources towards Indonesia Gold 2045.

"If children advance to class without sufficient reading ability, we risk building a solid future on an inadequate foundation. This is not a matter of blaming, but ensuring that our education system has a solid basis to support the achievement of the 2045 vision," said Puan.

Puan also called for educational missions to be part of the direction of national development by making the quality of basic education a priority. He said education is the key to developing developed countries.

"Education missions must be integrated with the direction of national development, ensuring that the quality of basic education is no longer a weak point in the map of Indonesia's human resource development," said Puan.

Puan said that the DPR is committed to carrying out its role of supervision and legislation consistently in order to encourage reform of a more fair and adaptive national education system. He wants all children to have access to education.

"No Indonesian children should be left behind in terms of basic abilities. Every potential child must be given space to grow optimally in a quality education ecosystem," concluded Puan.

As is known, a number of junior high school students in various regions could not read the paper smoothly. In a meeting of Commission X with the Minister of Basic and Secondary Education (Mendikdasmen) Abdul Mu'ti, the DPR reported that there were students in grade 1-2 junior high school students in Serang, Banten who could not read the contents.

Even students in Serang City, Banten, there are still many junior high school students who have difficulty writing the word 'Indonesia Raya'.

Similar findings also occurred in Buleleng, Bali. There are hundreds of students who cannot read smoothly. Of the 34,062 students in Buleleng, 155 students were declared in the category of not being able to read (TBM). While 208 students are included in the category of not being fluent in reading (TLM).