Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government is carrying out a massive transformation in education with the help of digital technology, Secretary General of the Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry, Suharti, has informed.

"The ministry has been transforming education since 2019," she said here on Tuesday.

Many policies have been carried out by the ministry to transform the quality of education in Indonesia, for instance, it has organized 22 editions of the Merdeka Belajar (Freedom in Learning) program, which utilizes digital technology immensely, she pointed out.

Added to this are programs such as the “Teachers and Schools as Mobilizers” program and the “Merdeka Curriculum,” which has been widely implemented by schools.

"Although it is not mandatory, many schools have voluntarily implemented the ‘Merdeka Curriculum’ because the impact has been felt," she explained.

The ministry is also assisting in schools' administrative processes through the SIPLah app and the School Activity Plan and Budget Application (ARKAS) so that schools can focus more on providing education to students.

Suharti said she is optimistic that the apps will help schools in managing government assistance, such as school operational assistance (BOS) and educational operational assistance.

According to her, there are more than 230 thousand schools that are using SIPLah and 217 thousand schools that are implementing ARKAS.

Not only that, the ministry has distributed around 1.25 million units of information and communication technology equipment to more than 72 thousand schools in the past three years.

Suharti also urged the business and industry world to participate in developing digital technology to help the government transform education.

"This is to help us ensure that the various platforms we prepare can be more useful," she said.

Digital transformation provides opportunities for the community, especially the younger generation, to actively take part in devising solutions and innovations through technology, according to the ministry.

Acting Director General for Higher Education, Research, and Technology at the ministry, Nizam, said that everyone must collaborate to increase the introduction and mastery of new technologies.

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Translator: Astrid H, Kenzu
Editor: Sri Haryati
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