Senior linguist Antonius Maturbongs said the school’s integration of local language learning—such as Sentani—into primary and secondary curricula offers a concrete example for other regions seeking to protect their native tongues.
“The initiative shows how local education policies can sustain linguistic heritage,” Maturbongs said Friday in Sentani.
He explained that the Merauke District Education Office in South Papua is preparing a regulation to safeguard mother tongues, following a comparative study at schools in Sentani that teach the Sentani language as a local content subject.
“We held a three-day workshop with Merauke officials and visited schools to observe how local language education is implemented. This allows them to replicate the experience in their regions," he said.
According to Maturbongs, Papua has 428 regional languages, based on 2019 data, most of which are endangered due to a declining number of speakers — with some languages surviving with only one remaining speaker.
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He stressed the need for collaboration among local governments, schools, and communities to keep these languages alive.
Origenes Monim, director of the Papua State Indigenous School, said the institution functions not only as an academic center but also as a hub for cultural preservation.
“We have integrated the Sentani language into the school curriculum so it continues to be taught formally,” he said.
The local effort aligns with the Ministry of Education’s Regional Language Revitalization Program (RBD), launched in 2022 under the Merdeka Belajar (Freedom to Learn) initiative. The program promotes language use within families and schools through festivals, storytelling, and digital media.
The government also encourages early education in regional languages, particularly in remote and disadvantaged areas, to improve literacy. These efforts are supported by Government Regulation No. 57 of 2014 on the protection and development of local languages.
Related news: Ministry urges Papua regions to preserve endangered local languages
Translator: Primayanti
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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