"The government has conceived a strategy to reduce the illiteracy rate in Indonesia to below one percent by 2024 and below 0.05 percent at the end of 2030," Director General of Early Age, Elementary, and Middle Education of the Education, Culture, Research, and Culture Ministry Jumeri stated during the 2021 International Literacy Day commemoration viewed from Jakarta, Wednesday.
Jumeri cited a government statistic wherein Indonesia's illiteracy rate in 2019 was recorded at 1.78 percent of the over-15 population, equivalent to some 3,081,136 people. The figure successfully reduced to 1.71 percent in 2020, or equal to 2,961,060 people.
Despite a reduction in the illiteracy rate nationwide, he noted that several provinces still recorded a high prevalence of illiteracy in their regions: Papua at 22.03 per cent; West Nusa Tenggara, 7.52 percent; West Sulawesi, 4.46 percent; East Nusa Tenggara, 4.24 percent; and South Sulawesi, 4.11 percent.
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The low literacy rate among Indonesian teenagers is one factor within the scope of national literacy issues that should be addressed by the authority, Jumeri affirmed.
He also noted that Indonesia had only recorded a score of 371 in the 2018 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) statistics, ranking 73rd from the 79 recorded countries.
Jumeri informed that the government had planned several measures to reduce the illiteracy rate in Indonesia comprising lesson curriculum development, education quality and literacy improvement, and encouragement to collaboration among educational institutions.
At the same event, Director of UNESCO Indonesia Mohammed Djelid expressed hope that measures taken to reduce the illiteracy rate in Indonesia would be implemented despite restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Translator: Indriani, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
