Education Minister: Eid holiday should be a learning opportunity outside the classroom, not merely a break

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s Minister of Primary and Secondary Education (Mendikdasmen), Abdul Mu’ti, has reminded parents to utilise the Eid celebration period as a learning medium for children outside the classroom rather than treating it simply as a holiday.

“Our official circular does not use the term holiday or break, but rather learning outside school, so returning home for Eid certainly becomes part of building and strengthening social relations and cohesion among communities,” said Minister Mu’ti after opening the Pleasant Reading Journey Home (MABB) 2026 event at Pasar Senen Station in Jakarta on Monday.

He added that the journey home can also serve as a medium for socialising and internalising national values and culture to children, including cultivating a culture of reading enthusiasm and promoting literacy among young people.

“We are also providing opportunities for students to learn in their home villages. This is what I believe is important for us to emphasise, so that returning home is not merely an activity where we go back to our villages, but also a medium for internalising the values and noble culture of the nation that we must preserve and continue to protect together,” he said.

He hopes that the journey home will not become a display of wealth among children, but rather a means of improving social relations with family members, both near and far.

“So returning home should not merely be a display of wealth. Because some people want it to be just a display, but the purpose should be to fix relations. Displaying wealth is not allowed, but fixing relations is what matters because it improves social relationships,” Mu’ti stated firmly.