Most Illiterate People Based on Java Island
Monday, 13 November, 2006 | 12:24 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Sudjarwo Singowidjojo, the Director of People’s Education at the Directorate General of External School Education, has said that the largest amount of illiterate people is based on Java Island.

“Almost all of them are spread around across all Javanese provinces,” he said on Friday (11/10).

The Department of National Education has recorded that around 13.2 million of Indonesia’s inhabitants are illiterate, with as many as 10 million of them on Java.

The details are: East Java, 46 million people; Central Java, 3.2 million people; West Java, 2.6 milllion people; and Banten, almost 400,000 people.

The majority of other illiterate people are spread across five provinces: West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Papua, South Sulawesi and West Kalimantan.

Research states that the causes of there being illiterate Javanese people are cultural factors.

According to Sudjarwo, Java has its own alphabetical system: Sanskrit.

Its inhabitants speak the Javanese language in everyday use so that their interest in learning the Latin alphabetical system is extremely low.

“Javanese cultures are still too strong,” he said.
Other factor that triggers many illiterate inhabitants is that of age.

Around 78 percent of illiterate people are above 44 years of age.

In the 1960s, said Sudjarwo, the government had not yet obligated people to be educated.

“People were too lazy to go to school,” he said.

In 2009, the government is targeting that half of the illiterate people will be literate.

Every year, it is targeted that 1.9 million illiterate people will learn to read and to write.

This year and in 2007, the government is prioritizing to teach illiterate people in the Rembang, Kuningan, Majalengka, Sampang, Sumenep, Indramayu and Karawang areas.

“If it is possible, we will reach Madura as well,” said Sudjarwo.

MUSTAFA MOSES