Minister supports safe learning spaces through child-friendly school orientation
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Primary and Secondary Education (Mendikdasmen), Abdul Mu’ti, has invited all elements of the education sector to realise a friendly School Environment Orientation Period (MPLS) in order to guarantee safe and comfortable learning spaces for children.
“With this Friendly MPLS, we invite all parties to work together so that we can educate our children, Indonesia’s children, to become great children towards the Golden Indonesia Generation of 2045,” he said during the National Movement for Safe and Comfortable Spaces for Children (RANA): Realise a Friendly MPLS 2026 event, attended online in Jakarta on Monday.
Abdul Mu’ti stated that creating a child-friendly education climate is in line with the President’s strategic directions, which have been legally affirmed through Ministerial Regulation Number 6 of 2026.
More broadly, the Minister explained that the National RANA Movement is designed so that the creation of safe spaces for children does not stop at the school gates. This comfortable ecosystem must continue to be built holistically, extending to the family environment, the community, and the digital sphere.
“This Friendly MPLS not only emphasises the importance of building a school environment that is socially safe, physically secure, healthy and beautiful, but also provides insight and awareness for our children about the importance of maintaining courtesy in the digital world,” he said.
The Minister considerered children’s civility in the digital world to be crucial, given the high threat of bullying and violence, including violence occurring in cyberspace.
He referred to Microsoft’s survey records showing that Indonesia’s Digital Civility Index remains low. For this reason, Abdul Mu’ti emphasised the need for a balanced approach to technology literacy education for students, whereby children are not only required to possess digital competence but must also be equipped with etiquette and courtesy when interacting online.
The Minister also announced that his office will issue a new Ministerial Circular regulating restrictions on gadget use for students under 16 years of age.
He stressed that the regulation is by no means an absolute prohibition, but rather a form of guidance on restrictions so that children are trained to use technology wisely, judiciously, and purely oriented towards educational interests.
This restriction is considered well-founded to protect children’s growth and development, given national data showing that Indonesians on average spend up to seven hours and 32 minutes per day accessing the online world, consuming almost a third of their daily time.