Media & Education

Indonesia

Most rural schools in Indonesia lack access to computer and internet resources, but some parts of the country are pushing to incorporate the “IT environment” into the classroom. In 2013, IT classes were removed when the new curriculum was implemented in Indonesian schools. However, this was reversed in 2014 when Anies Baswedan, Indonesia’s new education and culture minister instructed schools to use the old curriculum that included IT classes. Emma Liskowski, a teacher at an international school in Indonesia, had a lot to say about media and technology in education. She does not believe that local, public Muslim schools have major technology access for educational purposes due to poor funding and lack of resources. She also believes that there is much bias in the media, and the children are not taught to question this, but rather just accept the media. She mentions that education is not free for anyone, and the subjects taught at the public school are limited to mostly religion and Indonesian. However, if families can afford it, they will send their kids to a Christian school or an International school.