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Comments on other issues: Indonesia second least literate of 61 nations
March 12, 2016Indonesia has the second lowest literacy out of 61 measurable countries, beating only Botswana, according to new research that ranks the five Nordic states (Finland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Sweden) as the five most literate nations in the world
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strong>March 12, 2016
Indonesia has the second lowest literacy out of 61 measurable countries, beating only Botswana, according to new research that ranks the five Nordic states (Finland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Sweden) as the five most literate nations in the world.
The study, conducted by Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Conn., the US, looked at literacy and literate behavior in 200 countries, but only results from 61 countries were published because the rest lacked relevant statistics.
Your comments:
Most posters seems to misunderstand the report. Indonesians can read and write, it's just that they don't.
Basic education in Indonesia is today given to more or less everyone, even if the quality varies around the country, it's still there.
The big issue with this report is the fact that there is very little interest in higher education as well as a culture of voluntary ignorance. Even if Indonesia is not alone in this development, the passive masses with very little in the way of critical views absorb information based on how easy it is to digest. This prevents development, innovation and creativity, something that Indonesia has had in the past, but for some reason seems to have lost.
Orang Biasa
After 70 years of independence, 70 years for goodness sake, and the level of illiteracy is still this high? Does the Indonesian government have any dignity at all? What have they been doing all this time?
Pedro Gonzales
Taking into consideration the thousands of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) and madrassah (Islamic elementary schools) funded that teach mostly Arabic literature and science and fiction, Indonesia did well.
AnimisticGod
I don't know why, any time I go to a shop around Jakarta and ask for something, even before I can open my mouth to speak, the sales girl or boy says kosong (it's over). Can anybody explain why this happens only to me, or are there other foreigners with similar experiences?
Kolocinema
Because people don't do their jobs. Most restaurants won't have half of the menu because owners can't control their stock properly.
Revolusi
I agree with you 100 percent. Not a day goes by that I don't hear 'it's over' or 'closed'. It's very frustrating.
Bamboowilly
It is mainly because they see a foreigner, or someone who they know is not Indonesian and they panic, however it is very rude and disconcerting.
Robert J. Cochrane
I went to a hospital to consult a doctor, and the doctor couldn't speak English. I went to the bank and a well-dressed lady on the front desk couldn't speak English. My head is spinning.
KC
Remember, good literacy can be achieved in any language.
Tim
Learning Bahasa Indonesia may solve your problem. That should be obvious for any expat I would say. It is not a difficult language to learn. With your salary you can even get a private course pretty easily.
Sudarshana
Actually I need to agree with you there. Indonesian is rather easy to learn, but, even I struggle at times because you quite seldom meet someone who actually speaks clear Bahasa Indonesia as intended.
But it should be a give and take ' it should not excuse local executives or managers not being able to speak English at all, or just very brokenly. Neither should it excuse students after six years of apparently having learned English at school (six years!) to be only able to stammer 'hello mister' and not much more.
Anais Gudd
I can imagine finding a good tutor takes some efforts. How about asking Indonesian colleagues if they know a university student who can do that for some small fee. And yeah, locals should do better in their English. The level as it is now is no good.
Sudh
Please try to learn a little Indonesian language. It is not that difficult to take the first step (compared to Thai, Vietnamese, Mandarin, etc.) and it will make your life here much richer (culturally speaking). Language opens a lot of doors and breaks a lot of imaginary walls.
Deedee S
