English to be Compulsory Subject in Indonesia Starting 2027: Education Minister

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – The Indonesian Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Abdul Mu'ti, said that English will be taught as a mandatory subject across elementary schools nationwide starting 2027. He said the budget to implement the regulation is in discussion.

"Starting in 2027, we will begin teaching English as a compulsory subject from Grade 3, it has already been included," Abdul Mu'ti said after the Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and the Indonesian Presidential State Address in Jakarta on Friday, August 14, 2026.

"We are still requesting additional funding from the Ministry of Finance for the 2027 budget," he said.

English in Indonesia is neither a national language nor a commonly spoken language, as Malay-based Indonesian is the official language, and Indonesian islands were primarily colonized by nations speaking languages other than English, such as Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch. However, as English has grown into a globally accepted language, it has since been taught in Indonesian schools.

Abdul Mu'ti said English has been one of the high school subjects, even included as an exam subject. However, English in elementary schools is still optional, so he pushed for the subject to be compulsory.

Earlier, President Prabowo Subianto, in his state address, said that the government will start introducing languages other than Indonesian and regional languages into Indonesian schools from the first grade. He even mentioned languages other than English.

"We will start teaching our children foreign languages starting in elementary school. In first grade, they must start with a foreign language. (They should be taught about) the most important languages, (such as) English, Mandarin, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and French," he said.