UNAIR NEWS – A policy proposal from Indonesia’s Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to encourage the use of English in formal schooling has prompted criticism from education observers. Rafi Aufa Mawardi, a Sociology lecturer at Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), said the policy presents both opportunities and challenges when viewed through the lens of educational sociology.
In principle, increasing students’ exposure to English could serve as a practical way to strengthen language proficiency. However, he warned that implementing the policy uniformly without addressing underlying structural issues could further widen educational disparities.
“Students’ limited English proficiency can also contribute to unequal learning outcomes and variations in the quality of English instruction itself,” said Mawardi.
The continued existence of Indonesia’s 3T region, areas classified as underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost, highlights persistent gaps in access to education and basic learning resources. According to Mawardi, the government should prioritize meeting fundamental educational needs before rolling out such a policy, including improving accessibility, infrastructure, teacher quality, and teacher welfare.
“The government must ensure that efforts to strengthen English skills do not end up reinforcing inequality, commercializing language competence, or diminishing national linguistic identities, particularly local languages,” he added.
Teachers play critical role
From a pedagogical standpoint, teachers are central to shaping students’ perspectives and developing competencies that positively influence their social growth. Rafi believes the policy would significantly reshape the role of educators. Rather than serving solely as instructors, teachers would increasingly act as cultural mediators and agents of social change within schools.
To prevent potential negative consequences, he said teachers must be able to integrate local cultural values into classroom instruction, even when foreign languages are used as the medium of learning.
Such integration can be achieved by designing English-language discussions, projects, and presentations that draw on local folklore, regional traditions, indigenous knowledge, and community issues. “In that way, learning a foreign language does not disconnect children from their cultural roots. Instead, it becomes a means of presenting their identity to a global audience,” he said.
Educational Sociology perspective
From the perspective of Educational Sociology, classrooms are more than spaces for academic learning; they are social environments that shape students’ confidence and sense of identity. Rafi noted that many students struggle with foreign-language acquisition not because they lack understanding, but because they fear being ridiculed or stigmatized when they make mistakes.
He said those challenges can be addressed by creating a classroom environment grounded in humanistic and dialogic learning approaches, where mistakes are accepted as a natural part of the educational process. If the policy moves forward, he argued, the government should implement it gradually, adaptively, and inclusively to ensure that foreign-language proficiency does not become a marker of social exclusivity.
“My hope is that if this policy is ultimately adopted, its objective will go beyond producing students who are simply fluent in English. It should also help cultivate a generation that remains critical, inclusive, and firmly connected to its own social and cultural identity,” Mawardi told UNAIR NEWS.
Author: Nur Ibad Khasani
Editor; Khefti Al Mawalia
