Written by: Amandus D. Bandur, Floretina T.P. Amba, Maria Dasta Nafa, and Indramaya Folenta
MANGGARAI, PENA1NTT.COM – The literacy crisis in Indonesia is a serious issue because it impacts the quality of higher education.
According to data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Indonesian students’ reading skills are significantly lower than those of students in.
Even though the PISA data focuses on 15-year-old students, these findings indicate that the foundation of literacy is weak even before entering higher education.
Consequently, students entering higher education who are supposed to be an educated group arrive with very limited literacy skills.
Literacy encompasses the ability to read and write, as well as the ability to understand, analyze, and critically express ideas or concepts.
The impact of the literacy crisis on college students includes difficulty understanding academic material, limited vocabulary, and poor reading, writing, and critical thinking skills.
Students who do not have a habit of reading tend to struggle to understand the material presented and have difficulty comprehending reading texts.
Limited vocabulary also hinders students’ ability to understand scientific texts and to analyze and convey information in depth; weak writing and critical thinking skills are also a problem among students, as students should be able to construct or present arguments logically, clearly, and systematically.
This situation can affect students’ academic performance and may lower their overall intellectual quality. Given this situation, the question arises: who is responsible for this literacy crisis?
The literacy crisis among college students is not solely the responsibility of any one party, as it stems from a collective failure to foster a culture of literacy.
Students remain the primary agents in improving their reading skills and developing a full awareness of the importance of building habits to engage with texts and train themselves to think critically.
Ultimately, personal interest is the key to creating the space for oneself to cultivate literacy habits; without this inner drive, any efforts will not bear fruit.
However, this responsibility does not stand alone the role of higher education institutions is also central in providing students with the space to engage with literature through adequate facilities, creating an academic environment that demands analysis and discussion, and assigning tasks that train students to think and articulate ideas verbally.
If the learning process focuses solely on covering material without deepening students’ understanding, literacy will not develop.
Additionally, the government plays a role in improving literacy through programs that promote literacy or prioritize it as a key focus for students.
Thus, this responsibility does not rest solely on students; educational institutions and the government also play a role in jointly building this culture of literacy.
Ultimately, the literacy crisis among college students highlights the weakness of a fundamental foundation that cannot be ignored.
This situation is extremely serious in terms of developing students’ literacy skills; therefore, it must be addressed so that this generation is not labeled as one lacking the ability to think critically and merely absorbing instant information.
The responsibility for addressing this issue lies with students, higher education institutions, and the government through concrete action not just empty talk.
Literacy will be sidelined if there is no commitment, and higher education institutions will lose their significance as the primary space for creating an environment that students can utilize for learning and literacy.
