Nadiem’s Chromebooks & Indonesian IQ: Prosecutor’s Claim

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The Public Prosecutor (JPU) mentioned the low level intelligence quotient (IQ) of children in disadvantaged, frontier and outermost areas (3T) is proof of the failure of the education digitalization program of the era of former Minister of Education and Culture, Nadiem Makarim.

The Head of the Public Prosecutor’s Team said that many procurements in the education digitalization program were not based on studies.

Existing procurement also does not refer to the National Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMN).

“For the education digitalization program, especially the procurement of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Chromebooks, it turns out that they did not carry out the studies they should have had to refer to the RPJMN where the 2020-2024 RPJMN mentioned improving the quality of HR (Human Resources),” said prosecutor Roy Riady when giving a statement after the trial at the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court, Tuesday (23/12/2025).

Also read: Nadiem is still being treated, the trial in the Chromebook case has been postponed again

Based on the JPU’s assessment, improving the quality of human resources also includes the education digitalization program in Disadvantaged, Frontier and Outermost (3T) areas.

However, it is said that the procurement of Chromebook-based laptops has not yielded results because these laptops cannot be used if there is no internet.

Meanwhile, the internet signal is unstable in the 3T area.

Also read: Kubu Nadiem Ready to Disclose the Contents of the WA Group Chat on the Procurement of Laptops at the Conference

Improving the quality of human resources, firstly, is through digitizing education, including in the 3T areas.

“This procurement cannot be used. Even the teaching and learning process cannot be used. Well, this is a problem in itself, of course,” said Roy.

According to the prosecutor, these tools that cannot be used add to the losses experienced by the state.

“Yes, it’s a loss. And this (the Chromebook cannot be used) is a consequence because if we look at the data from the IQ of Indonesian children in 2022, the IQ is 78,” added Roy.

Meanwhile, Nadiem served as Minister of Education and Culture from 2019 to 2021 and continued as Minister of Education and Research and Technology from 2021 to 2024.

Also read: Is it true that Indonesians only have an average IQ of 78?

The prosecutor assessed that Nadiem’s ​​program ultimately did not improve the nation’s life.

“The education digitalization program, the policy of the minister at that time, the defendant Nadiem Anwar Makarim, whose policy did not make the nation’s life more intelligent,” he continued.

Prosecutors consider that low IQ is a parameter of the quality of human resources (HR).