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Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Abdul Mu’ti said the ministry will soon roll out a new plan that will allow students to learn the subjects of artificial intelligence and coding.
However, Mu’ti said the class on AI and coding would be an elective and only available to students in the fourth grade.
“For primary school, the subjects will not be available for first graders, but only for fourth graders, fifth or sixth graders,” Mu’ti said, as quoted by Antara.
The newly installed minister also said that the ministry is exploring the possibility of hiring new instructors to teach AI and coding, or partnering with institutions that already specialize in the two subjects.
In a statement published on Thursday, the ministry said only schools with sufficient resources and a reliable internet connection could start teaching classes on coding and AI.
Earlier on Thursday, Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said he was in discussions with Mu’ti on how coding could be included in a new curriculum designed for primary and secondary school students.
“In principle we agree that we need a curriculum on coding,” Meutya was quoted by state news agency Antara.
Debate over the plan to include coding and AI in the new curriculum was sparked earlier this week by a statement from Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who said he had instructed Mu’ti to start working on a plan to teach coding to primary school students.
“We cannot lag behind India (in encryption). To achieve Golden Indonesia, we need a golden generation, those who are experts in coding and AI,” Gibran told a meeting on Monday.
-In collaboration with ANN