Prabowo Orders Students to Learn Mandarin, Arabic, Japanese, Korean

President Prabowo Subianto has instructed schools to add foreign language subjects beyond English, including Mandarin, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and French.

Speaking at the Annual Session of the People’s Consultative Assembly and the Joint Session of the House of Representatives and the Regional Representatives Council in Jakarta on Friday (14/8/2026), Prabowo said the most important languages to teach were English, Mandarin, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and French.

He also asked that these subjects be introduced to pupils as early as possible so that the nation’s younger generation can quickly master the skills.

“We will start foreign languages for our children from the first grade of primary school,” he said.

Prabowo argued that foreign language ability is one of the key requirements for not being left behind in a highly competitive and dynamic world. Learning from other nations, he said that English alone is no longer sufficient, as many opportunities require proficiency in several other foreign languages.

“Many countries speak Spanish and Arabic; we must also learn Russian,” he said.

The president also mentioned a number of government initiatives in the education sector, including Sekolah Rakyat, which is specifically aimed at pupils from extremely poor families. Education, he said, is an effective step to break the cycle of poverty.