TNI Limits Mobile Phone Use for Kopdes Manager Trainees to One Hour Weekly

Participants in the Sarjana Penggerak Pembangunan Indonesia (SPPI) education and training programme for prospective managers of the ‘Red and White’ village cooperatives (Kopdes) are only permitted to use communication devices or mobile phones for one hour each week. The Commander of the SPPI Education Unit at the Army Medical Corps Education Centre, Lieutenant Colonel Said Jauhari, stated that the restriction aims to maintain participants’ focus during the intensive training period.

According to Said, the character of the participants, who are predominantly young people, makes controlling gadget usage very important. “The current generation is Gen Z. If they hold a handphone, their learning concentration decreases; they just end up playing with their phones,” he said.

Providing gadget access once a week to the trainees is a new policy. Initially, the committee planned to prohibit the use of mobile phones entirely during the 30-day basic military training period. However, according to Jauhari, the policy later became part of the committee’s evaluation following the incident involving the deaths of several prospective cooperative managers. He stated that this change was an instruction from Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, following heightened concerns from the participants’ families.

“Every week, we give them their phones for one hour to communicate with their families. Especially since there was news yesterday about deaths and so on, of course, the families are anxious,” said Jauhari.

Jauhari explained that the schedule for mobile phone use is not set at a specific hour but rather adjusts to the situation and training agenda. Outside the designated time, participants can still communicate through the committee’s facilitation if there is an urgent need. “But if it’s just to ask, ‘Sir, how is my child?’, we will convey that their child is in good health and will communicate on Sunday, like that,” he said.

Nevertheless, Jauhari mentioned that the communication device restriction only applies during the 30-day State Defence Briefing Training. When participants enter the managerial material phase, which requires internet access, all use of electronic devices will be permitted.