The U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Brian McFeeters together with the Minister of Education and Culture Anies Baswedan visited SDN Jelupang 2, a public elementary school in Tangerang Selatan, Banten, to symbolically handover 8 million leveled reading books developed through a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) education program. More than 600,000 of the books will be distributed to 986 primary schools in 7 districts in Banten.

“A good education is key to lifting people out of poverty and to helping them reach their full potential. Through USAID, the United States is partnering with the Indonesian government to provide students with the tools they need to learn and to equip teachers with skills to be more effective in classrooms. The USAID books will help more than 100,000 students in Banten improve their reading skills, increase their interest in reading, and improve their comprehension,” said U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Brian McFeeters. “PRIORITAS is one of the many USAID programs to help improve essential public services to meet the needs of the most poor and vulnerable Indonesians.”

During a previous visit to Banten in March 2016, Minister of Education and Culture Anies Baswedan stressed the importance of developing children's reading habits in school. "This literacy movement is meaningless if there are no efforts to develop reading habits in school,” said Baswedan. 

USAID’s Prioritizing Reform, Innovation, Opportunities for Reaching Indonesia’s Teacher, Administrators, and Students (USAID PRIORITAS) is a five-year program designed to bring world class education to students in Indonesia. Since 2012, USAID PRIORITAS has been working with 7 district governments in Banten to improve the quality of basic education. The program has provided technical support to improve the quality of teaching and management in a total of more than 2,200 primary and junior secondary schools, and has trained more than 10,800 educators. Local governments have also received technical support in coordinating, planning and funding the education service, especially in managing teacher deployment.

In Banten Province, USAID PRIORITAS is working in 7 districts and cities: Cilegon, Lebak, Kota Tangerang, Kabupaten Serang, Pandeglang, Kabupaten Tangerang, and Tangerang Selatan.

The project is also working in two Teacher Training Institutes (TTI-LPTK): Banten State University - UNTIRTA and Banten State Islamic University - IAIN SMH.

USAID PRIORITAS is a basic education program in Indonesia that helps individuals, organizations, and institutions acquire the knowledge, skills, and capacity to support Indonesia’s on-going development. USAID leads the U.S. government’s efforts in development and humanitarian assistance overseas.