MP Calls for Screen Readers for Blind Students Taking Academic Ability Tests

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Abdul Fikri Faqih, a member of Commission X of the House of Representatives (DPR), has called on the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) to provide a screen-reader feature for the Academic Ability Test (TKA).

Fikri said in Jakarta on Friday that screen readers would enable students with visual disabilities to take the test independently and on an equal basis with other students.

“The feature should be provided so that students with visual disabilities can take the test equally and independently,” he said.

The request reflects the aspirations of blind people, particularly members of the Indonesian Blind Association (Pertuni), expressed at the organisation’s 2026 National Working Meeting in Jakarta on Thursday (5 November).

“The decisions we make today are not merely meeting notes, but a mandate that demands full responsibility from all central and regional administrators. It is time to move from planning to concrete action,” Fikri said when closing the meeting.

Fikri, who is also a member of Pertuni’s Board of Trustees, said accessibility features for the TKA were part of efforts to ensure people with disabilities had equal opportunities to access education.

He said blind students needed technological support that would allow them to access questions and complete examinations independently, without relying on assistance from others.

In the sports sector, he urged the Ministry of Youth and Sports to coordinate with Pertuni to support the development of visually impaired athletes who have achieved success at regional, national and international levels.

In the financial sector, Fikri said he hoped state-owned banks would simplify administrative requirements to integrate Pertuni membership cards (KTA) with ATM cards, as part of efforts to strengthen financial inclusion.

He stressed that these aspirations needed to be advanced through consolidation, implementation, advocacy and recognition, so that the recommendations from the national meeting would not remain merely an organisational document.

Earlier, Pertuni’s central executive board called on all members of the public and organisations to foster collaboration in the fight for the rights of people with disabilities.

Pertuni Chair Setiawan Gema Budi said the organisation was ready to remain a strategic partner of the government, in accordance with Law No. 8/2016, in overseeing various social welfare programmes.