Deputy Minister Proposes Weekly Book Reading to Boost Student Literacy

Deputy Minister of Basic and Secondary Education (Wamendikdasmen), Atip Latipulhayat, has proposed the importance of reading at least one book per week to foster students’ interest in reading and literacy. He conveyed this proposal to SMPN 57 Jakarta whilst reviewing the first day of the Friendly School Environment Introduction Period (MPLS Ramah) activities. “Perhaps this has already been implemented at SMPN 57 Jakarta, hopefully it has. I propose that every Monday, for example, all students must borrow a book from the library. For those who finish reading a book in one day, they may borrow another. The minimum is finishing one book per week,” said the Deputy Minister in Central Jakarta on Monday. “Later, there could be a storytelling session. So the younger students can share what they have read. It should be mandatory to finish at least one book a week,” he added. On the occasion, he also encouraged students to build a habit of reading various books as a source of knowledge, by getting accustomed to finishing one book a day to improve literacy. At the same event, the Head of SMPN 57 Jakarta, Agustin Kantiastuti, said that this year the school is organising the Friendly MPLS activities with the theme of Character, Achievement and Collaboration. She stressed that the school guarantees there will be no violence of any form, including bullying of new students, during the MPLS activities or the regular learning period. Agustin added that the MPLS activities at SMPN 57 Jakarta will take place over five days, from 13 to 17 July 2026.