Unveiling the Conditions and Challenges of Chromebooks in Jambi, Corruption in the Ministry of Education and Research under Nadiem's Era

The Shiro Copr, JAMBI - Currently, the case of corruption in the procurement of Chromebook laptops at the Ministry of Education and Culture under Nadiem Makarim's era is hot.

Procurement of Chromebook devices for all schools in Indonesia, from kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school, and senior high school.

Four suspects have been determined by the Attorney General's Office in this laptop corruption case, one of whom is a staff member of Nadiem Makarim.

What is the condition of Chromebooks in the region, including Jambi, now? Are they effective?

In Jambi Province, there are 41,703 schools that have received assistance for purchasing Chromebook laptops through the Kemendikbudristek program.

The school has levels from kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school, to senior high school, spread across 11 cities and regencies in Jambi Province.

Jambi Tribune checked the aid at several schools. The results showed that not all use of the devices was smooth.

There are some limitations, usage requires an internet signal, software updates, insufficient data storage space, inadequate quantity, and others.

The principal of SMPN 26 Jambi City, Arianto, said the need for technological devices in their school is continuously increasing, while the available number is still far from sufficient.

The school located on Liphosos Street, Bakung Jaya Village, which was established three years ago, is facing major challenges regarding limited equipment.

Arianto said the school received 15 Chromebook units, one Infocus unit, and one Wi-Fi router used to support various learning activities, including exams and assessments.

The amount is very insufficient to meet the needs of all students and teachers.

"We are short of equipment to support exams and other learning activities. Ideally, we need 45 units," said Arianto, Wednesday (7/16/2025).

To address this issue, the school had to schedule the exam in three sessions so that all students could get a turn to use the devices.

Arianto said that the Chromebook is used for about 160 minutes every day, both for online learning and exams.

Limitations of the equipment force the school to find temporary solutions that are not yet fully optimal.

Another issue is that Microsoft Office applications are not available on Chromebook devices.

"Shortage of Microsoft Office applications is a significant drawback, especially for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) lessons, which are highly dependent on this software," said Arianto.

At a time when the Chromebook corruption case at the center was trending, Arianto actually hoped for an addition of units so that all students and teachers could access the devices smoothly.

"For the purpose of learning and teaching, we need more devices," he added.

Meanwhile, Diniyyah Al-Azhar Islamic Kindergarten of Jambi City received a Chromebook, an infokus, and a wifi router from the Ministry of Education and Culture around 2022.

Although the device is very helpful for some learning activities, the limited number makes its use not optimal.

"We only use it for special activities, such as watching together and mapping AKM values," said Indah Suarti, the principal.

Because there are many students and only one Chromebook unit, the device cannot be used simultaneously by all students.

As a result, teachers or students often have to share devices or use their personal devices.

However, according to Indah Suarti, although the limited number of devices is a constraint, Chromebooks have been very helpful in improving the quality of learning, especially in terms of mapping AKM scores and other learning activities.

"Although it is only one unit, this device has been quite helpful for us in carrying out these activities," he said.

Unlike the other two schools, SMP IT Nurul Ilmi 2 Kota Jambi chose not to comment on the use of Chromebooks they received from the Ministry of Education.

Nadiem Makarim Has the Opportunity to Be Questioned Again

Former Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Mendikbudristek), Nadiem Makarim, has the potential to be summoned again by the Attorney General's Office (Kejagung) to be questioned as a witness in the corruption case involving the procurement of Chromebook laptops at Kemendikbudristek from 2020 to 2022.

The Attorney General's Office has determined four suspects in this case. The suspects are: the Director of Elementary School, Directorate General of Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education and Secondary Education 2020-2021, Sri Wahyuningsih (SW),

Director of SMP, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology 2020, Mulyatsyah (MUL), Special Staff of the Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology in the field of Administration during the era of Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology Nadiem Makarim, Jurist Tan (JT/JS), Individual Consultant for School Resource Management Technology Infrastructure Improvement Plans at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, Ibrahim Arief (IBAM).

After this suspect determination, the Attorney General's Office also does not rule out the possibility of recalling Nadiem Makarim.

The Director of Investigation of the Office of the Attorney General for Special Criminal Offenses (Dirdik Jampidsus) of the Attorney General's Office, Abdul Qohar said that the examination depends on the needs of the investigators.

"Whoever the witness has been called, if the investigator still needs further questioning, he will be called again, including NAM (Nadiem Anwar Makarim)," Qohar said in a press conference on Tuesday (15/7). (tribun jambi/khusnul khotimah/srituti apriliani putri)