Indonesia’s Minister of Elementary and Secondary Education, Professor Abdul Mu’ti, announced that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and coding will be taught from 4th grade in elementary school to middle school.
This plan stems from Vice President Gibran’s desire to realize “Golden Indonesia” through early mastery of technology, particularly AI and coding. These subjects will be offered elective courses and implemented only in certain schools.
Digital society researcher and Deputy Secretary of the Center for Digital Society (CfDS) at UGM’s Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (Fisipol UGM), Iradat Wirid, commented that while the idea is intriguing as it opens up exploration opportunities for children, several aspects need attention.
He believes that imposing a burden on children solely to fulfill the government’s ambition of creating digital talents is not the right approach.
“Learning materials should be aligned with the children’s capacity,” said Wirid Wednesday (Nov. 20).
According to him, the first foundation students should be given is logical thinking, which fosters good problem-solving skills.
He explained that programmers or coders must be able to solve problems sequentially in coding systems. Therefore, moral values, such as patience and precision, must also be taught so they won’t have to redo their work from the start.
“Students need to understand the essence of the process so they don’t fall into the trap of AI’s instant nature,” he said.
In addition to promoting technological education, instilling moral and ethical values should be prioritized. This will ensure that children use AI wisely and respect the rights and privacy of others.
Digital literacy should also be introduced so children can understand issues as part of their comprehension of coding and AI.
Wirid also suggested that the technical teaching of coding could be packaged in a learn-through-play concept. If students have the capacity, they could practice creating simple games at the middle or high school level.
“Just teach them enjoyable methods that are appropriate for their age. Don’t burden them with expectations of becoming coders at such a young age,” he stated.
Regarding the exclusivity of AI and coding courses being offered only in select schools, Wirid believes this approach is not ideal. He emphasized that young teachers should be tasked with teaching logical math and computational logic, returning to basic concepts.
He also noted that teachers need to improve their knowledge of coding tools. Wirid questioned whether the government is ready to provide the necessary facilities for teachers and students, such as laptops or computers.
“Exclusive learning has never been good. There’s no need to be ambitious and rush things because everything needs to be prepared thoroughly,” Wirid added.
Conversely, Wirid proposed that the government create a more inclusive and equitable program. He continued, stating that if this is a pilot project, the sample schools chosen should not only be in big cities or already advanced schools.
In his view, the principles of fairness and equity must come first.
“If later on they only choose top schools, that would be cherry-picking (biased justification),” he remarked.
Wirid hopes that the advancement of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education will be encouraged but balanced with social sciences to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and produce a socially aware younger generation.
He believes that individuals with STEM skills who also grow up with a solid social science background will become a dignified golden generation driving the nation’s progress.
“Social science understanding must be strengthened at the same level, so they don’t lose direction or become apathetic,” he concluded.
Author: Bolivia
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Afifudin Baliya
Photo: Freepik