Govt Wants to Refine Textbooks, Instills Reading Habit of Students

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Indonesian government wants to refine its national textbook reform efforts as part of its efforts to strengthen the foundations of Indonesian education. This directive follows the focus of its president, Prabowo Subianto, on the quality of textbooks used by students, as well as efforts to foster a reading culture from an early age as a long-term investment in improving the quality of its people.

The country's Cabinet Secretary, Teddy Indra Wijaya, explained that President Prabowo's focus on textbook reform stemmed from Prabowo's visits to several schools. During those visits, Prabowo personally inspected the textbooks used by students and identified several issues requiring attention.

"When checking textbooks, he looked at them one by one. He noticed that some were easily damaged, some were already damaged, and the writing was so small that elementary school students, in particular, had to read very closely, which made it difficult to read," Teddy said on Friday, August 7, 2026, as quoted from the Indonesian Presidential Secretariat.

"Therefore, he decided to check all books from elementary school to high school," he said.

According to him, after studying the textbooks, Prabowo then instructed that comparisons be made with textbooks from neighboring countries. This is done as evaluation material to improve the quality of national textbooks.

"Then we compared it to neighboring countries. That's how it was initially, so as the State Secretary mentioned earlier, we checked it, and ultimately, we'll improve it," the Cabinet Secretary said.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's Minister of State Secretary, Prasetyo Hadi, explained that Prabowo is placing special emphasis on several strategic aspects. In addition to strengthening national character, he said Prabowo is focusing on improving the quality of science and technology education, as well as enhancing foreign language skills to prepare the younger generation for global competition.

"Second, to catch up in science and technology, one example of the basics is mathematics. Third, to face global competition, one of his concerns is foreign language skills, one of which is English," Minister Prasetyo said.

He further said Prabowo also wants to improve the physical quality of textbooks, not just the material. Textbooks are expected to have a more attractive appearance, a more comfortable font size, and better paper quality so they can be used for longer.

"As we explained earlier, we want the design to be large, attractive, with clear and well-made text. The material should also be high-quality so it can last for a while. In the past, there were times when some books weren't personally owned and could be passed down or used by younger students," he explained.

On that occasion, Prasetyo also revealed that President Prabowo's attention to education is linked to the reading habit instilled in him from childhood. He explained that Indonesia's late economists and former minister, Soemitro Djojohadikoesoemo – whose sons include Prabowo – has always required his children to read a certain number of books each week, then summarize them and share with him.

"This is also an educational method that we have coordinated with the Ministry of Elementary and Secondary Education, so we are starting to encourage and reinforce it (reading habit). We are encouraging reading, and we are making it mandatory for all of us," Prasetyo said.