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South China Morning Post

The Lens: Jakarta's new public transport policy faces challenges despite good intentions

If you are interested in being a regular contributor for The Lens, please apply by clicking this link. Thoughts from last week Valerie Chiu, 15, St Mary's Canossian College Valerie Chiu believes that while Jakarta's new public transport policy for civil servants aims to ease congestion, it raises many questions. Photo: Handout A new policy mandates that all civil servants in Jakarta take public transport every Wednesday. However, there are several reasons why this policy is unlikely to alleviate long-term traffic congestion. First, the policy is unfair to those living in suburban or outlying areas, where the transport network does not extend. Forcing some civil servants to walk or drive to the nearest public transport hub is inefficient and inconsiderate. As they experience physical exhaustion, their work efficiency may decrease, ultimately affecting Jakarta's overall workforce. Moreover, is Jakarta truly capable of accommodating all civil servants with public transport during peak hours? While reducing the number of private vehicles may initially alleviate road congestion, increased use of public transport could lead to long queues and inconvenience. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the policy is uncertain due to weak regulation. Although top leaders may appear to follow the rules, it is doubtful they will maintain this compliance. The requirement to take selfies as proof of compliance is inherently ineffective; with advancements in deepfake and photo-editing technology, anyone can easily fabricate evidence of having used public transport. The absence of penalties for non-compliance further undermines the policy's success. A more effective long-term strategy may involve expanding the transport network and improving infrastructure. By building more roads, alternate routes would be available for private vehicles to reach their destinations, reducing the likelihood of traffic congestion. If the government genuinely wants to promote public transport, it should only be implemented once a comprehensive network is established. Read up on this issue in last week's The Lens Read and observe The Philippines is facing alarming rates of functional illiteracy among high school graduates, highlighting systemic educational challenges. Photo: AFP A staggering number of high school graduates in the Philippines have been found to be 'functionally illiterate' – a revelation that lawmakers and education experts say exposes systemic failings in the country's school system that must urgently be addressed. The Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey is a nationwide assessment of the population's basic and functional literacy levels every five years. Around 79 million people were considered to be functionally literate in the 2019 edition of the report, which defined the term as having reading, writing and numeracy skills. In 2024, however, this definition was updated to include higher-level comprehension skills, cutting the figure to 60 million. The number of Filipino high school graduates lacking advanced comprehension skills is 'staggering, but not entirely surprising', according to Baguio City Representative Mark Go, who co-chairs the Second Congressional Commission on Education. Go cited the Programme for International Student Assessment study released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2024, in which the Philippines earned a mean score of 14 in creative thinking, well below the global benchmark of 33. Meanwhile, a 2022 World Bank report on learning poverty – the inability to read and comprehend a simple text by age 10 – showed the Philippines at 91 per cent, while Singapore was at 3 per cent. Go said that the problem had been aggravated by 'learning loss' during the Covid-19 pandemic. The provinces with the highest functional illiteracy rates were in Mindanao in southern Philippines, with Tawi-Tawi – the country's southernmost province – at 67 per cent, followed by Davao Occidental at 43 per cent. Gatchalian said it was 'important that we flag the local government units in that area to address illiteracy in their locality, either by using their own resources or allocating national resources so that it can be augmented'. Staff writers Research and respond How might higher rates of functional illiteracy and educational issues in the Philippines impact the country's society and economy in the long term? What steps can the Philippines take to address this education gap?