An unexpected push to introduce Portuguese as a priority subject in Indonesia’s classrooms has set tongues wagging about President Prabowo Subianto’s educational priorities.
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The plan, which Prabowo unveiled during Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s visit to Jakarta last month, left educators, lawmakers and community leaders grappling with the realities of what such an ambition might mean.
“As a sign of how important Brazil is to us, I have decided that Portuguese will become one of the priority languages taught in schools,” Prabowo said during a joint press conference in Jakarta on October 23, announcing that he would instruct the country’s education ministers to design the new curriculum.
Portuguese would join English, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, Spanish, German and Russian as “priority” languages in the nation’s schools and universities, he added.
The announcement was followed by a joint communique on an “educational cooperation framework”, with both countries pledging to develop “academic mobility and institutional partnerships to deepen people-to-people ties”.
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The government’s stated intent is to broaden students’ foreign language skills and enhance Indonesia’s global engagement. “I hope that during this visit to Indonesia, and during our meetings, we can ensure political, economic, social and scientific benefits for the Indonesian people and for the Brazilian people,” Prabowo said.