Indonesians are lazy readers and writers<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesians are among the laziest readers and
\nwriters in the world, according to a senior official of the
\nMinistry of Education and Culture.<\/p>\n
Zainal Arifin Achmady, the Director General for Basic and
\nIntermediate Education, added that the rapid development of
\ninformation technology is not helping either.<\/p>\n
It is therefore up to parents and teachers to encourage their
\nchildren to pick up reading and writing habits, Zainal said to
\nthe Antara news agency.<\/p>\n
Citing an international survey, he said the habit of writing
\nin Indonesia is among the lowest in the world.<\/p>\n
Indonesia ranked second from the bottom in a critical reading
\ncontest, he said without giving details of the contest.<\/p>\n
He said the rapid development in telecommunications technology
\nhas meant that Indonesians prefer to communicate with one another
\nby phone. "This is at the expense of writing or reading because
\nusing the phone is more efficient and faster."<\/p>\n
Teachers hold the crucial key in motivating their students to
\npick up the habit of reading and writing, and even to make it
\npart of national culture, he said. Parents should join in the
\nendeavor because children spend a large portion of their time at
\nhome.<\/p>\n
To encourage reading and writing, the Ministry of Education
\nand Culture plans to launch "The Year of Writing Letters" in
\n1995.<\/p>\n
The campaign is hoping that every Indonesian citizen will
\nwrite at least 50 letters a year.<\/p>\n
Currently, the national post office handles about 500 million
\nletters a year, which means that on average, an Indonesian only
\nwrites 2.5 letters a year, he said.<\/p>\n
The post office, he pointed out, is making all the necessary
\nfield preparations in anticipation of this campaign such as
\nsetting up more letter boxes, including at schools, and more
\nairplanes to send letters to various parts of the archipelago,
\nincluding the remotest regions, he added. (emb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesians-are-lazy-readers-and-writers-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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