Former Kemendikbudristek technology consultant says Chromebooks are not suitable for learning activities
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Former Kemendikbudristek technology consultant Ibrahim Arief said Chromebook-based laptops can be used for the minimum competency assessment (AKM) programme, but are not suitable for learning activities. This was conveyed as Ibrahim testified as a witness in the ongoing trial into the alleged corruption in the procurement of Chromebook-based laptops for the defendant, former Mendikbudristek Nadiem Makarim.
‘My opinion as a consultant here is that for AKM purposes there is compatibility,’ Ibrahim said in the Jakarta Corruption Court, on Thursday, 5 March 2026.
‘But when it comes to learning, I feel there is a lack of compatibility,’ he added.
Therefore, Chromebooks can be used to support the AKM programme, unlike learning activities that do not require internet connectivity.
Ibrahim explained that this incompatibility had been conveyed to Google and Nadiem in 2020, before the Chromebook-based laptop procurement was rolled out.
‘The first concern is connectivity, about how Chromebooks could be used in places without internet, for example,’ Ibam said.
The second concern Ibrahim conveyed to Google concerns the compatibility of several applications used by the ministry that cannot be opened using the Chrome operating system.
‘About the compatibility of applications and the locking in of login to the Google ecosystem, where I already asked at the time, how if schools or those who want to use, want to employ Windows applications,’ Ibam said.
‘To me that is not a solution. Because what is the point of procuring Chromebooks if in the end it will be scrapped,’ Ibam said.
Nadiem Makarim is accused of causing state financial losses of Rp 2.1 trillion in the case of alleged corruption in the procurement of Chromebook-based laptops.
The act was carried out together with three other defendants, namely the former Kemendikbudristek technology consultant Ibrahim Arief, the former Director of Secondary School at Kemendikbudristek Mulyatsyah, and the former Director of Primary School at Kemendikbudristek Sri Wahyuningsih.