Independence in education: Harnessing AI to empower teachers

August 21, 2024

JAKARTA – Indonesia has just celebrated another year of independence and as the nation embraces advancements in generative artificial intelligence (AI), a pivotal question arises: Can AI transform Indonesian education?

The potential is vast but depends on our teachers’ foundational knowledge, critical thinking and innovative pedagogy. Effective integration of AI into professional development requires teachers to not only be equipped with modern technologies but also possess the critical skills necessary to use these tools effectively.

This dual preparation will unlock AI’s full potential to enhance teacher autonomy and elevate educational standards.

This Independence Day, we envision a technological revolution in teacher professional development, which is vital for quality instruction and intrinsic to every citizen’s experience of true independence.

The latest data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) show the country had around 3.1 million teachers in 2022, of which 2.5 million were state employees. This figure is still below the ideal of 4.2 million teachers.

Apart from quantity, quality remains an uphill challenge. Competency tests from 2015 to 2021 found that around 81 percent of teachers did not achieve the minimum score. When it comes to student performance as the outcome of learning activities, Indonesia has consistently ranked low in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

While the integration of AI, particularly OpenAI, into teacher development promises to foster educational autonomy, rigorous research must first validate these methods. For this purpose, the education research team of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) conducted a study in collaboration with the