August 7, 2026 | 06:00 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Prabowo Subianto said on Thursday that his administration plans to significantly increase spending on education and research, arguing that Indonesia's ability to produce innovation and scientific breakthroughs depends on improving the country's education system.
Speaking before 150 researchers from Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Prabowo outlined plans to renovate school buildings nationwide, expand elite public schools, and increase funding for research and development (R&D).
"To achieve innovation, breakthroughs, discoveries, and patents, the foundation is education," Prabowo said.
"That is why I want to make a major investment in education for our future generations. I want to renovate every school, improve their physical infrastructure, and build elite schools where the brightest students can be selected and prepared to pursue studies at the world's leading universities."
Prabowo added that the government's elite Garuda Schools (Sekolah Garuda) will adopt the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum to align with global academic standards.
"They must be educated to the same standards as the best students in the world. We hope they will qualify for and be accepted into the world's top universities," he said.
The president also said Indonesia is pursuing partnerships between domestic universities and leading overseas institutions. He cited ongoing cooperation with the Russell Group, a consortium of 24 research-intensive universities in the United Kingdom.
Calling education "a long-term investment," Prabowo also acknowledged that Indonesia has underinvested in research and development.
"We must acknowledge that our investment in research and development is still very small, far below where it should be," he said. "This is something we need to correct, and going forward we will work to improve it."
Prabowo did not specify how much additional funding would be allocated to education or research, or when the planned increases would take effect.
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