President Prabowo Subianto wants eight foreign languages to be taught\nto children from the first year of primary school. The chairwoman of the\nPGRI executive board, Unifah Rosyidi, has spoken about the challenges of\nimplementing the programme.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs part of the development of the times, it is certainly\npermissible, but preparing eight foreign languages is not as easy as\nturning the palm of your hand. The curriculum must be prepared, and the\nteachers must be prepared,\u201d Unifah said when contacted on Monday\n(17\/8\/2026).<\/p>\n
Unifah asked the government to focus solely on teaching Indonesian\nand English. She stressed once again that teaching eight foreign\nlanguages is no simple matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor now, let us focus on Indonesian as the language of unity and on\nEnglish. Hopes for the future are fine, but it is not as easy as people\nthink,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Even so, Unifah acknowledged that language proficiency is indeed\nimportant. According to her, only some schools would be able to realise\nPrabowo\u2019s wish.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a response to the importance of language mastery in an era of\ndiverse languages and in the global era, it will indeed be responded to\nby each school. Schools are different; some can respond quickly, while\nfor schools under the ministry in general it is not easy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She stressed that teachers in Indonesia are also not yet ready to\nteach eight languages. \u201cThis means the human resources are not truly\nready. At present, the most important things are Indonesian as the\nlanguage of unity and English as the international language. Those must\nbe implemented first, because of the limited human resources,\u201d she\nsaid.<\/p>\n
As is known, President Prabowo believes that foreign language skills\ncan make it easier for the younger generation to find work. Prabowo said\nthat foreign language learning would begin to be taught to pupils from\nthe first year of primary school.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever the subject, we will gather the best teachers, including\nfor foreign languages. Foreign languages are absolutely essential and\nmust be mastered,\u201d Prabowo said during his speech at the 2026 Annual\nSession of the People\u2019s Consultative Assembly and the Joint Session of\nthe House of Representatives and the Regional Representatives Council at\nthe Parliamentary Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Friday (14\/8).<\/p>\n
Prabowo explained that the government would begin foreign language\nlearning from the first year of primary school. The languages to be\ntaught, he said, are those considered the most important and most widely\nused in various countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will start foreign languages for our children from primary\nschool. From the first year of primary school, they must begin foreign\nlanguages; the most important languages: English, Mandarin, Arabic,\nJapanese, Korean, Spanish and French,\u201d Prabowo said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/prabowo-wants-foreign-languages-taught-from-primary-school-pgri-raises-concerns-1786931509", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }