T

he Culture and Education Ministry has enlisted a number of higher education institutions and information technology firms to train teachers in the latest technology trends.

Ministry research and development unit head Totok Suprayitno said that the ministry could not work alone as there was an estimated 2.7 million tenured and contract teachers in the 2013-2015 academic year.

'€œWe are willing to work with any institutions, agencies, universities and practitioners to work together with the government so that we can ascertain what are the best practices,'€ Totok said on Wednesday.

Ministry Educational Evaluation Center (Puspendik) head Nizam said that the revision of the 2013 curriculum, which is currently underway, would also include topics about the use of information technology.

He said that the syllabus relating to information technology would also teach students to take a critical stance toward technology.

'€œThese skills will be valuable no matter how technology develops ['€¦]. We must first build the character of our children so that they are not just consumers of technology, but also contribute to creating new technology and knowledge through technology,'€ he said.

Nizam said that current teacher training did not equip them with the skills need to adapt to new technology.

Indonesia'€™s number of internet users continues to rise dramatically each year. In March last year, the Communications and Information Ministry reported that at least 73 million people in the country, around 29 percent of the population, had access to the internet. Access to social media was reportedly the highest online activity.

Furthermore, 58.4 percent of internet users were between 12 and 34 years old and were online five hours a day on laptops or personal computers; and around two hours via mobile devices.

Education expert Darmaningtyas said the government should first provide infrastructure for students living in remote areas to use electricity for computers and other gadgets, before tackling the job of improving teachers'€™ tech skills.

'€œThe main problem is outside of Java where human resources are scarce and there is limited access
to electricity and infrastructure. This is why they can'€™t rely on technology to aid learning,'€ he told The Jakarta Post.

He said that a significant number of teachers in urban areas would not need further training as they already had various methods of using technology to teach their students, but that the problem was older teachers who had no experience with new technology.

'€œOn the other hand, most of the older teachers are hesitant to innovate. Hopefully, with the demand for constant innovation they will be motivated to develop their skills or be left behind,'€ Darmaningtyas said.

Meanwhile, secretary-general of the National Education Commission (Komnas Pendidikan), Andreas Tambah said that the government must work together with private schools to deliver progress to the country'€™s remote regions.

'€œOur government is currently unable to provide the same standard of education to everyone so they must work together and support public schools. The government must work together with private schools who are more able to provide the same quality of education and equipment if the government can'€™t set up public schools there,'€ he told the Post.