The Removal of English Language for Elementary School in Curriculum 2013

Abstract

The Ministry of Education and Culture surprisingly wanted all primary schools to remove English, which has been taught for nearly 14 years in primary schools. It is the responsibility of governments, experts, and the media to educate stakeholders, to ensure that Indonesian children receive the best possible education. TEFLIN (the Association of Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Indonesia) recommends that English (a) is a local component for schools that have qualified human resources and adequate capacity, (b) is an extra-curricular for schools which have limited human resources and capacity, and (c) should not be taught in elementary school that does not have the human resources and capacity at all. The best choice of the three options above is to enforce English in elementary school as a local content so that certified English teachers in elementary school will not lose their jobs and high public interest toward English language will be accommodated.