Expert from Nadiem's Camp Reveals Chromebook Procurement Did Not Cause IQ Decline

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Education and career consultant Ina Setiawati Liem, alias Ina Liem, stated that low educational abilities in children are not solely caused by IQ factors, but are influenced by various other aspects.

She made this statement when presented as an expert witness to mitigate for the defendant, former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Nadiem Makarim, in the trial of the alleged corruption case regarding the procurement of Chromebook-based laptops.

“The causes of low IQ are numerous, including nutrition and air pollution. Well, not all of these fall under the purview of the Ministry of Education,” said Ina during the hearing at the Jakarta Corruption Court, Tuesday (21/4/2026).

Nadiem’s legal adviser, Radhie Noviadi Yusuf, highlighted the Prosecutor’s statement that claimed the IQ level of schoolchildren in Indonesia is relatively low due to procurement policies deemed unsuitable for students’ needs.

“It cannot be,” said Ina.

According to Ina, the IQ score of 78 previously mentioned by the prosecutor was the result of research from old data.

“The IQ 78 that circulated on social media. Meanwhile, it was published through a survey called Intelligence of Nations by Lynn and Becker, published in 2018. So, before Mr Nadiem served as minister,” said Ina.

Ina stated that the research used data collected during the period 1980-2000.

“Even the research methodology is still questionable because the data was taken not within the same time frame, from various sources starting from the 1980s to the 2000s,” said Ina.