MPR Deputy Urges Parents and Environment to Instil Literacy Skills in Children

Deputy Chair of the MPR RI, Lestari Moerdijat (Rerie), assesses that efforts to enhance the skills of facilitators (teachers, parents, and the community) are crucial for instilling literacy abilities in the younger generation. “Efforts to improve the literacy of the nation’s children cannot rely solely on schools. The role of parents and the surrounding environment in planting literacy skills in the next generation is highly determinant,” Rerie stated in her remarks on Saturday (4/4/2026). According to Rerie, supervision during children’s use of gadgets and the habituation of reading from an early age must be carried out consistently. If not, added Rerie, children’s ability to understand readings will remain low, even though they can read. Data from the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) indicates that 75% of 15-year-old children in Indonesia can already read, but do not understand the content of their readings. Only about half of the students who can read have good literacy skills. “This is not about being able to read or not, but about understanding or not. This is a reading comprehension emergency,” said Rerie, who is also a member of Commission X of the DPR RI. Rerie urges that several steps be immediately realised. Among others, said Rerie, parents must actively supervise children when using gadgets, rather than just prohibiting or giving gadgets without control. In addition, continued Rerie, the government must immediately eliminate taxes on books and paper taxes so that book prices are affordable, thereby making access to reading materials easier for the public. According to Rerie, who is also a legislator from Electoral District II of Central Java, efforts to improve the literacy of the nation’s children must become a national movement, not just the task of teachers in schools. Furthermore, the member of the NasDem Party’s High Council opines that if the younger generation is not equipped with critical thinking skills from an early age, the nation’s competitiveness will be threatened. “The nation’s sovereignty in the future very much depends on our children’s ability to understand and filter information,” she concluded.