TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsSmart screens expose paradox in education policies
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
A teacher explains about a learning material using a smart TV to students at SDIT Persis Ciganitri Islamic elementary school in Bandung regency, West Java on May 2, 2025. The usage of interactive screen in classrooms is part of initiatives announced by President Prabowo Subianto on May 2, in commemoration of the National Education Day, to improve the country's education system. (Antara/Abdan Syakura)
P
resident Prabowo Subianto’s plan to equip hundreds of thousands of schools nationwide with smart screens has drawn cautious responses from education experts, who warn that the program may fall short if deeper structural problems in the sector remain unresolved.
Among the challenges they highlight are uneven teacher distribution, poor teacher welfare and inadequate facilities in underdeveloped regions.
Prabowo recently reaffirmed his commitment to the initiative during a visit to a Sekolah Rakyat (community school) in Jakarta, one of his other flagship education programs that provides free boarding schools for children from poor families.
He said that digitizing schools was key to narrowing the gap between Indonesia’s education system and global standards.
“We have distributed smart screens to 10,000 schools, with each school receiving one unit. By Nov. 10, I’ve been told the number will reach 100,000 and by the end of this year we expect 330,000 schools to have them,” Prabowo said, adding that the rollout aims to eventually provide three devices per school before equipping every classroom.
Read also: Critics slam Prabowo’s smart screens as misplaced education priority
The smart screens, he went on to say, would help improve education quality by equalizing access to learning. The President explained that the technology would give students access to high-quality content, including animations and interactive materials, supported by instruction from selected teachers.
