Prabowo Subianto Laments Indonesia's Lagging PISA Scores, Trails Malaysia and Vietnam

President Prabowo Subianto has admitted that Indonesia's performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey has not shown encouraging results, with its reading score still lagging behind several Southeast Asian countries. Prabowo conveyed this during a meeting with the Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Arif Satria, and researchers at the Presidential Palace Complex on Thursday, August 6. According to Prabowo, Indonesia's reading score is only slightly above that of the Philippines, trailing behind countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, the OECD average, Japan, and Singapore. "We are not too good," Prabowo stated. PISA is an international survey that measures students' abilities in reading, mathematics, and science. Prabowo acknowledged that comparisons with other countries are not always straightforward, citing Indonesia's vast archipelago, thousands of islands, and schools spread across mountainous and remote areas as significant challenges. He contrasted this with Singapore, a city-state where the Minister of Education could theoretically inspect almost all schools within a short period. He provided examples of the difficulties in monitoring schools on islands like Miangas and in remote parts of North Maluku and North Sulawesi. However, the President emphasized that the magnitude of these challenges should not serve as an excuse for inaction. "Our difficulties are very big. This should not be an excuse that we do not need to catch up," he said. He urged that the survey results be accepted as material for correction and used to devise strategies for improving the quality of education. Prabowo assessed that education is the foundation for producing innovations, discoveries, and patents, and therefore, the government intends to increase investment in the education of the next generation.