TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Nadiem Anwar Makarim on Tuesday launched a program touted the revitalization of local languages, which is a part of the 17th edition of Merdeka Belajar (freedom to learn).

The program was launched to preserve local languages, especially for the younger generation in society, as he does not want local language extinctions that have happened across the globe in other communities.

Citing the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) data, Nadiem said around 200 local languages have disappeared in the past 30 years. This comes as a unique problem that will face Indonesia, he said, as Indonesia has around 718 local languages with some facing potential extinction.

“This is something greatly unique, with Indonesia being the world’s stage. But unfortunately, many local languages are facing threats of being extinct,” said Uno.

According to Nadiem Makarim, the main problem in preserving these hundreds of local languages is that the native speakers no longer apply it on daily occasions and even worse, parents no longer pass local languages on to the next generation.

The Education Minister insists that the regional language revitalization program is the government's effort to make the general community aware and convince them that language is not just a collection of words, but as the identity and wealth of the nation.

Read: Education Minister Nadiem Makarim Launches Merdeka Belajar Curriculum

ARRIJAL RACHMAN