San Francisco Consul-General: KIRA could be a 'game changer' for education

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Consul-General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) in San Francisco, Yohpy Ichsan Wardana, said that the KIRA program has the potential to be a game changer in improving foreign language proficiency and strengthening the competitiveness of Indonesian children.

KIRA is an AI-based English language training application that is safe for children and involves software engineer interns from various campuses in California, under the guidance of Silicon Valley mentor engineer, Anoop Sreedhar, who has more than two decades of industry experience.

“KIRA has the potential to be a game changer in improving foreign language proficiency while simultaneously strengthening the competitiveness of Indonesian children in disadvantaged regions, in a world that is developing rapidly due to technology and innovation,” said Yohpy.

In a press release in Jakarta on Saturday, Yohpy hoped that going forward the KIRA program could be integrated with various national education initiatives, including the Program Sekolah Rakyat.

“Thus the benefits of technology-based English language learning can reach more students from less well-off families in various regions,” he said.

The KIRA program was developed by BERCERITA (Bridging Educational Resources to Cultivate Equity, Resiliency, Inclusivity, Tenacity and Agency), a not-for-profit organisation focused on strengthening access to education for primary school children in underprivileged areas in Indonesia.

“We developed KIRA so that children can continue to practise outside of class while also beginning to become accustomed to using AI as a learning tool for the future,” said Co-founders BERCERITA Ilma Chairani.

Meanwhile, the other Co-Founder, Suliati Boentaran, hopes that Indonesian children gain confidence in using foreign languages.

“We want children to feel confident using English, not afraid of making mistakes. KIRA helps them practise at any time, with relevant materials and a safe learning environment,” she said.

KIRA has two main features, namely Quiz, structured practice that follows weekly learning material, and KIRA GPT, an AI-based conversation feature that allows students to practise English naturally, as if speaking with a digital assistant.

The KIRA system is also equipped with topic filters and safety sensors to ensure conversations stay within the learning context.