T

he poor teaching of the Indonesian language is to blame for the low literacy rates of students at the elementary level, according to a study.

Suhardjono, a lecturer from Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java, said Thursday his research showed that fourth-grade Indonesian language teachers lacked the necessary skills in teaching the subject.

"They only have 42.85 percent of the necessary teaching skills," he said in a seminar held in Jakarta.

The research was conducted in cooperation with the Education Research Center at the National Education Ministry and was aimed at identifying the root causes of low literacy rates among Indonesian students.

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) conducted in 2006 revealed that out of a total of 45 countries surveyed, Indonesia ranked 42nd in students' literacy rate.

According to the PIRLS, Indonesian students scored an average of 405 in reading literacy, far below the mean international score of 500. Students who attended schools in large cities scored higher than those who attended schools in more remote areas.

The PIRLS is an international reading assessment providing comparative data to help countries make informed decisions about reading education. Launched in 2001 and conducted every five years, it assesses students' reading achievement at the fourth-grade level.

The PIRLS focuses on comprehension for two reading purposes, namely literacy experience, and acquiring and usage of information.

A total of 46 national educational systems around the world took part in the PIRLS 2006, with the Asia-Pacific region represented by Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei, New Zealand and Indonesia.

A lecturer from the University of Indonesia, Felicia N. Utorodewo, who gave a presentation on the PIRLS in the seminar, said while most of the students who were surveyed for the study showed the lowest reading literacy level, a small group of students had the highest level of reading literacy.

"Indonesian students are not conditioned to express their opinions in a clear and systematic language, but they are good in answering multiple choice questions," she said.

The study, she added, also found that the Indonesian language curriculum placed an unnecessarily high emphasis on spelling, punctuation marks and effective sentences.

"This naturally means that the curriculum often neglects the necessary attention to the writing process," she said.

Suhardjono said that his research revealed that teachers' educational level and experience in teaching the subject also played an important role in improving students' reading literacy.

The research was conducted in 12 schools that had been surveyed by the PIRLS. The schools are located in South and North Jakarta, Bandung in West Java, Surakarta and Magelang in Central Java, Kediri in East Java, and Medan and Delitua, both in North Sumatra.

Suhardjono said that his research showed no significant correlation between students' reading literacy level and the conditions of the schools.