Mandatory French Language Learning: DPR Member Questions Teacher Availability
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - DPR Commission X member Ledia Hanifa has stated that President Prabowo Subianto’s directive for all levels of schools in Indonesia to learn French will face challenges due to a shortage of foreign language teachers.
Ledia said the main issue to consider is not the choice of foreign language to teach, but the availability of teachers capable of instructing in that language.
“When French is suggested for study, it is fine if resources are available. The problem is whether those resources exist. We cannot teach French without teachers who can speak it,” Ledia said on Saturday, 30 May 2026.
Not all schools have the same capacity to provide teachers, she noted. Ledia cited examples of schools with teachers for Mandarin, Japanese, or Korean, but not necessarily French.
“Each school has different conditions,” said the Prosperity Justice Party politician.
“Therefore, we cannot apply a one-size-fits-all approach where all schools must learn a specific language due to limited human resources,” Ledia added.
She further noted that public and private schools with lower economic capacity generally face greater limitations compared to top-tier schools.
“Indeed, the major challenge is the lack of sufficient foreign language teachers to be deployed in schools, especially in remote and underdeveloped areas,” she said.
Previously, President Prabowo Subianto stated he had instructed the strengthening of French language learning across all school levels in Indonesia.
The statement was made after Prabowo met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday, 28 May 2026.
“I have instructed that all Indonesian schools must learn French, considering future global developments,” Prabowo said.
He added that the move is part of efforts to strengthen Indonesia-France relations in the future.
At the time, Prabowo mentioned that strengthening Portuguese language learning was part of efforts to bolster ties with Brazil.
He stated that Portuguese is among the priority foreign languages already taught in schools.