East Kalimantan Intensifies Digital Literacy Outreach to Schools in Implementing PP Tunas

Samarinda (ANTARA) - The East Kalimantan Provincial Government is intensifying digital literacy outreach to all schools in implementing the Government Regulation on the Governance of Electronic Systems in Child Protection. “As the regional government, we are actively assisting the central government in socialising this regulation, particularly to schools and parents, so that children’s digital ecosystems are safer,” said Head of the East Kalimantan Communications and Informatics Office, Muhammad Faisal, in Samarinda on Monday. Faisal explained that the regulation divides the focus of supervision and responsibility among four main elements: electronic system providers (PSE), the general public, educators, and parents. In addition to socialising the regulation, concrete efforts at the regional level are also manifested through policy encouragement to add physical play facilities so that children do not constantly stare at gadget screens every day. “In the education ecosystem, the central role of educators in schools is very much expected to equip students with proficient digital literacy understanding from an early age,” said Faisal. Moreover, said Faisal, the internet penetration rate in East Kalimantan has now reached a high level, at around 82 per cent of the total population. “Based on statistical data, 48 per cent of all internet network users in Indonesia are currently still children under 18 years old,” Faisal stated. Another fact that has caught their attention is the finding that more than 80 per cent of children in the country spend an average of up to seven hours a day just playing games. “Therefore, the implementation of PP Tunas in this region places more emphasis on efforts to limit the use of digital space, especially social media applications (medsos) that are deemed to have higher risk exposure compared to games,” Faisal revealed. Nevertheless, according to him, some popular online games with broad interaction bases such as Roblox, Mobile Legends, and Free Fire remain under special supervision. “To curb the negative tendencies of gadgets, close collaboration built between the government, schools, and families at home is key so that children in the region can utilise technology safely,” Faisal concluded.