PDI-P Criticises French Language Proposal: 'Next Visit to Africa, Teach African Languages?'

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Djarot Saiful Hidayat, Chair of the Central Leadership Council of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), has criticised the proposal to teach French across all education levels, which was previously announced by President Prabowo Subianto following his visit to Paris, France.

According to Djarot, foreign language education cannot be decided on a whim simply because the President has recently visited a country.

“For the French language issue, it is important, but it cannot be that immediately after the President visits France, he announces mandatory French education at all school levels,” Djarot said after a Technical Guidance Session (Bimtek) for PDI-P Regional Legislative Councils (DPRD) across Indonesia on Saturday, 30 May 2026.

“Then if, say, he goes to Africa next, it would be African languages that must be taught. It can’t be like that,” Djarot said.

The former Jakarta governor said foreign language teaching policies must be based on thorough research, particularly regarding national education needs and global developments.

“Therefore, the government should first determine which foreign languages are mandatory and which are optional for students,” he added.

“There must be in-depth research into which foreign languages our children need to master. Which ones are mandatory? Which are optional?” Djarot said.

“Other foreign languages could be optional, depending on the needs and capabilities of individual schools.”

“English could be mandatory, while optional languages could include French, Dutch, Mandarin, Japanese, Spanish, and Portuguese. This should be left to the schools, their users, and the ministry to determine what is most important to teach our children,” Djarot added.

“On the same occasion, he also criticised policymaking that is often top-down, without incorporating grassroots input.”

“We must change the approach so that decisions do not simply come from the top, top, top. The bottom must also be heard,” Djarot said.

“Take the Red and White Village Cooperatives, for example – they cannot be imposed. Cooperatives grow from the bottom up, from members, not from above,” he concluded.