Government Targets LGBTQ Prevention Material in Curriculum This Year
The government will incorporate educational material on preventing the phenomenon of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) sexual orientation into school teaching materials starting this year.
This was announced by Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Father Romo Muhammad Syafi’i, as quoted from the ministry’s official website.
He described the move to begin inserting LGBTQ prevention material into the curriculum in the 2026/2027 academic year as a follow-up to Presidential Regulation 111/2025 on the General Policy for State Defence.
The LGBTQ prevention material will later be inserted into the existing curriculum for pupils from Year 4 of primary school through to senior secondary school.
“The target of this curriculum insertion is pupils from Year 4 of primary school onwards, then at junior and senior secondary levels,” Father Romo explained in an article published by the Ministry of Religious Affairs on Wednesday (22 July).
“In this material, we do not discuss the practice of its spread in the field in detail. The focus is on giving children an understanding so they do not get involved in the LGBTQ cultural movement, whilst also equipping them with an understanding of the attitudes that can serve as a bulwark against falling into LGBTQ,” he continued.
He explained that the material would also contain explanations of the various forms of dissemination deemed to be occurring in society and internationally. The hope, he said, is that pupils will have an adequate understanding of how to respond.
Quoting from the same website, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno said the implementation of the policy refers to Presidential Regulation Number 111 of 2025, which designates the issue as one form of non-military threat.
Therefore, Pratikno said, cross-institutional and cross-ministerial cooperation and coordination are being stepped up to realise this.
“That is why we will continue to coordinate the relevant ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Ministry of Communication, and the various agencies that run education units. This coordination also covers the Ministry of Social Affairs, which runs the People’s Schools, as well as other technical ministries that have official schools,” he said.
DPR Response
Previously, the DPR, through the commission overseeing education, warned the government to be careful and wise in inserting LGBTQ prevention material into the curriculum, particularly at primary school level.
Deputy Chair of Commission X of the DPR, Lalu Hadrian Irfani, noted that the material must be simple and take children’s development into account.
“If what is meant is providing education about health, pubertal development, respecting others, and explaining that every child has the right to protection from bullying and violence, that could be part of age-appropriate education,” Lalu said on Wednesday, as quoted by detik.com.
He also asked that the prevention material be drafted based on facts and with consideration of children’s developmental stages.
Nevertheless, he believes sexual orientation cannot be prevented through a curriculum.
In his view, education would be better focused on shaping children’s character. In addition, he said, it is also important to create a safe school environment for children.