Learning French Becomes President Prabowo's Instruction
President Prabowo Subianto has instructed all levels of schools in Indonesia to teach French. The instruction was given on May 28, 2026, in Paris after meeting President Emmanuel Macron.
The statement read, "I have now instructed that all levels of Indonesian schools must learn French, seeing the world's development ahead." This policy encourages strengthening foreign languages from an early age to open up opportunities for diplomacy, business, defense, and international cooperation.
The main obstacle is the limited number of French teachers. Graduates from universities like UNJ, UNY, UNNES, and UNIMED are only in the hundreds per year, while Indonesia has hundreds of thousands of schools. Possible solutions are phased implementation, starting from top schools, retraining teachers, collaboration with Alliance Française and the French Embassy, or video-based learning.
https://www.gelora.co/2026/05/