September 11, 2025 | 06:52 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Abdul Mu'ti, has addressed the issue of international schools receiving smart TVs or interactive flat panels (IFP) from the government. He emphasized that the digital device delivery is only made to schools that express their willingness.
"Just check. A journalist who told me that five international schools claimed to have received the shipment. We asked for verification, and it turned out that those schools did not receive anything," said Abdul Mu'ti when met at his office on Thursday, September 11, 2025.
According to him, the news about the distribution of smart TVs to international schools is inaccurate. He said that if a school is unwilling, it can declare as much. "If, for example, they do not wish to receive it, and due to a mistake from the distributor, they can ask for a return or request us to take it back," he said.
Abdul Mu'ti explained that the smart TV program is part of President Prabowo Subianto's priority to improve the quality of education. The distribution target is 288,000 educational units in both the public and private sectors. He mentioned that the mechanism is based on the school's filled consent form.
"So if someone claims that a school received it without requesting, there might be an error from the sender. The principle of delivery is based on the school's approval," he said.
He added that the distribution process of smart TVs is still ongoing and not yet completed. Therefore, the exact number of devices that have reached schools cannot be confirmed. "We don't know yet because it's not finished. (The estimated quantity) is also unknown. Ask around in the field," he stated.
Previously, Ina Liem, the Chief Executive Officer of Jurusanku, raised concerns about the alleged inaccuracies in the procurement of flat panels for schools carried out by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. She mentioned that the project, worth trillions of rupiah, has the potential to be wasteful and is fraught with transparency issues.
Ina stated that after she uploaded a critical video about the program, there was an announcement of the cancellation of the flat panel distribution to cooperative schools (SPK). However, a few days later, the policy was reinstated.
"SPK schools were asked to fill in a form of willingness. But state and non-SPK private schools were not asked; they were automatically sent," said Ina in a video posted on her personal Instagram on Saturday, August 30, 2025.
She gave the example of a private school in Jakarta that was not part of the SPK program. Even though it already had a flat panel in each classroom, it still received a shipment from the government. "They couldn't refuse or return it. So there were two flat panels in one classroom. Imagine, what a waste," she said.
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