Society Is Not the One to Blame for Indonesian Low Literacy Rates

Reading is one of the many ways we can expand our knowledge. It broadens our minds, trains our critical thinking skills, enhances our interest and reading could also be a way to fill your needs of entertainment. However, it is hard acknowledging all the good impacts of reading without having any access to it at all. It is suffocating to be mocked at because we know nothing due to the lack of reading, not because we do not want to but because we do not have the privilege to read. This is not an individual’s mistake, it is a national issue.

Lack of reading could grant heavy impacts, particularly to the young generation. Because they cannot afford to read, they will find other resources of fun, and it may not always be a good one. Children who are not trained to read at an early age will find difficulties when they have to face the real world and work in the field. Reading is something that is highly needed on college level too, therefore reading could also lead to the decrease of qualified graduates. Low Indonesian literacy level is an issue concerning all levels of society in the nation, and here is why.

There is a close connection between access and habits. If one cannot have access to reading, how could that person develop a habit of doing it? Based on World’s Most Literate Nations Ranked in 2016, Indonesia is placed at the 60th rank of 61 countries, with 1 being the most literate and 61 being the most illiterate. Being second to last should have been a reminder to this nation that this is a serious problem and needs to be taken care of. However, recent research might prove several points as to why Indonesia deserved to be the second last.

Based on UNESCO standardisations, a person needs to read at least three books. Even if we lower the standard to one book for a person, the total books printed in Indonesia will not be enough. There are 270 million citizens in Indonesia, and there are only 22.8 mil copies of books. Nevertheless, we all know that facilities and infrastructure are not evenly distributed in this country. Developments are mostly made in Java and the capital city, Jakarta. It is worse for Eastern Indonesia.

Retrieved from Konde.co, there are four provinces in Indonesia who have the lowest literacy levels; Papua, West Nusa Tenggara, West Sulawesi, and East Nusa Tenggara. A literary activist Nila Tanzil shared her experience of teaching in East Nusa Tenggara for approximately four months. Based on her observation, people were not facilitated with books to read, even in libraries and schools.

The condition worsens when it comes to women. There is a stereotype in the Indonesian society which says that women should not spend much of their time studying because they will end up as housewives anyway. This is another factor that prevents Indonesia’s young generation – especially women – from reading and educating themselves.  If this stereotype continues, it is not surprising that Indonesia continues to have a low literacy rate.

However, this problem cannot be solved simply by changing the mindset of Indonesians to read more. It all starts with the resources. The Indonesian government must improve the infrastructure, facilitations and developments so that it is evenly distributed across the nation. It should be less difficult to change the mindset if the government can also provide better facilities to read, rather than changing the mindset first and providing the readings later. People need proof that reading and low literacy rates are serious matters and the citizens are not the only ones to blame and are expected to change for it. Low literacy rates can only be changed if both the government and society can work cooperatively.

Editor: Adhitya F. Ramadhan & Audrey Keita N.

References

• Tan, P. (2020, December 10). Minat Baca Orang Indonesia Paling Rendah di Dunia, Karena Tak Ada Akses dan Kesempatan. Konde.co. https://www.konde.co/2020/03/minat-baca-orang-indonesia-paling.html/.