The Indonesian government supports accelerating digital transformation in education by encouraging teaching staff to hone their digital skills. Research in 2020 showed that digital skill improvement could contribute IDR 4,434 trillion to Indonesia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2030.
In light of this, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kemkominfo) is eager to accelerate technology advancement in every sector to support Indonesia’s 2045 vision to become a sovereign and independent country.
The government recognises that educators need to have digital proficiency to overcome and adapt to teaching and learning that has transitioned from offline to online.
“We need to pay special attention to education and proficiency in digital technology. The 2020-2024 RPJMN (National Medium-Term Development Plan) has seen that digital transformation in national strategic sectors needs to be implemented and accelerated,” said the Director of Digital Economy of the Ministry of Communication and Information, I Nyoman Adhiarna in his remarks at the Digital Transformation Education Sector online seminar.
Based on the Ministry of Communication and Informatics development plan, education is one of the strategic sectors that will support national economic growth in 2020-2024. Moreover, the Directorate of Digital Economy endorses the plan as a programme enabler to support the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Throughout 2022 Kominfo has organised digital technology adoption programmes in the education sector in various locations in Indonesia. Covering Bali, Bintan Regency, Batam City, Sorong Regency, Biak Numfor Regency, Klaten Regency, Kendal Regency, Kuningan Regency, Medan City, Padang City and Tual City, Nyoman explained.
Meanwhile, the Regional Secretary (Sekda) of the Government of Kuningan Regency, West Java, Dian Rahmat Yanuar said the education sector digital technology adoption programme would expand teachers’ skills and knowledge and increase their confidence.
“The pandemic era was a challenge, as well as a momentum for us to declare ourselves to be more competitive in the future complex challenge, therefore teachers are required to adapt faster,” he shared.
New Curriculum to Boost Digitalisation
Kemkominfo has collaborated with the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud) in driving the “Merdeka Mengajar” (Independent Teaching) platform as a new curriculum. The Executive Director of CERDAS, Indra Charismiadji, explained the new “Merdeka Mengajar” curriculum concept focuses on the learning process of students.
“The essence of differentiated learning is that it focuses on students as every student cannot be the same. Teachers need to know how to deal with these different students,” expanded Indra.
Other participants emphasised the importance of teachers providing relevant context in the learning process. Educators have to adopt different approaches when writing in academic media and on social media. They can become teacher influencers by trying new things.
The seminar entitled “Digital Transformation of the Education Sector” was organised by the Ministry of Communication and Information to celebrate National Teacher’s Day. The Ministry worked with provincial, district/city governments and all public and private schools to broaden the activities outreach.
The webinar discussed various problems in the learning system. In the event, participants discussed how to accelerate technological advancement and agreed that it requires teachers to adapt and maximise the use of technology to make better school learning.
Kominfo has given digital transformation top priority at the Indonesian G20 Presidency Summit in 2022. Mira Tayyiba, secretary general of the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, is concerned about the issue of digital transformation. The forum working groups discussed several digital issues, such as employment, discussing digital, education, health, and other topics.