Education Ministry provides self-paced training for primary school teachers to teach English

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) is equipping primary school teachers with self-paced training through the Peningkatan Kompetensi Guru Sekolah Dasar Mengajar Bahasa Inggris (PKGSD-MBI) programme on the Rumah Pendidikan platform.

Director General of Teachers and Education Personnel (Dirjen GTK) Nunuk Suryani said the self-paced training is an effort to improve teacher competence ahead of the implementation of English as a compulsory subject at primary level starting in the 2027/2028 academic year.

“We hope for the support of Education Offices and UPTs to encourage priority target schools, especially primary schools that do not yet have teachers with an English background, to enrol or encourage their teacher representatives to take part in the PKGSD-MBI self-paced training,” Nunuk said in Central Jakarta on Wednesday.

She added that the ministry’s self-paced training is a development of the regular PKGSD-MBI training programme that was opened last May.

“PKGSD-MBI is one of the strategies to prepare teachers gradually for implementing English learning in schools. Director General Nunuk also requested support from various related parties to encourage and provide space for teachers to take part in this self-paced training and apply it in classroom learning,” she said.

She also advised teachers to treat the self-paced training as a learning space and preparation for teaching students, rather than viewing it as an additional burden.

“Make use of the available materials and learning activities, follow the process seriously, and most importantly, do not be afraid to apply what you have learned in classroom practice. Teachers can also share knowledge through Teacher Learning Days. Learning does not only happen when there is training. Learning needs to become part of teachers’ culture and daily life,” Nunuk said.

For information, the PKGSD-MBI programme targets 90,447 primary school teachers.

The RGTK PKGSD-MBI self-paced training is one of the efforts to expand learning opportunities so that more teachers can develop their competencies.

With the self-paced training, Kemendikdasmen is targeting 30,000 teachers to take part in the training each year, so that the need for teachers who teach English at primary level will be fully met by 2029.