Indonesia to remove 'Science' and English from Primary Curriculum

Learning about science in school may soon be a thing of the past for primary students in Indonesia. The government wants the subject removed so more time can be spent on things like religion and nationalism. But teachers say the move is a step backwards. Al Jazeera’s Step Vassen reports from Jakarta.

The teaching of English in Indonesia’s primary schools will end next year as the government attempts to reverse falling standards in Bahasa Indonesia.

Deputy education and culture minster Musliar Kasim announced an overhaul of the curriculum that will see English classes cease by July. He told the Jakarta Post newspaper that students need more time to master their first language.

“Elementary schools won’t have English lessons because [students] haven’t learned to understand the Indonesian language. Now even some kindergarten students take English courses. I pity the kids,” Musliar said.

The ministry also plans to focus more teaching time on religion and Indonesian culture at the expense of science and social studies, the newspaper reported. English language classes will start from junior high school in state schools.

The move is being linked to a fall in the number of students in recent years who are passing their Bahasa language high school matriculation.

Another set of poor results published in May prompted some education observers to claim that students were devoting too much time to learning English at the expense of Bahasa.

Others point out that the low pass rate can be blamed on poor teaching standards.