Elementary schools in Jakarta, Indonesia will be offering English as an extracurricular activity only while elementary schools elsewhere in Indonesia will not have English on the curriculum at all.

The announcement, made late last year (December 2013) means that English lessons at Elementary school level will either not be offered at all or limited to just one hour a week as an extracurricular activity in Jakarta schools. Regular English lessons will begin in Middle school, however.

This move has angered many people who see learning English as important in the global environment and understand that starting English at an early age is important.

Meanwhile, it is also been seen as an opportunity for private schools to gain more students to make up for the cutbacks in state education. One private school owner saw this as a great opportunity and has already begun advertising classes for younger students.

Useful Links

Teaching English in Indonesia‏‎

Jakarta Post Article – an article from the Jakarta Post on this subject