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Coding and AI in Schools: Compulsory or Elective?

Published: 30.07.2026·Updated: 30.07.2026

Maya Putri

Early Childhood Education Specialist

Coding and AI in Schools: Compulsory or Elective?

Koding dan Kecerdasan Artifisial (KKA — Coding and Artificial Intelligence) is not a compulsory subject. Its status is optional, and it has so far reached only some year groups. Under Permendikdasmen No. 13 of 2025, KKA enters the curriculum as an elective subject from the 2025/2026 school year, in stages: so far only Year 5 of SD, Year 7 of SMP, and Year 10 of SMA/SMK are covered. Years 6, 8, 9, 11, and 12 follow in the years after.

If your child's school is not teaching KKA at all, that is not a sign the school is behind. Those are simply the rules, and this is what parents most often misunderstand since the news was widely discussed in mid-2025.

The Legal Basis: Permendikdasmen 13/2025

The regulation was issued by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) as an amendment to the curriculum provisions for early childhood, primary, and secondary education. Permendikdasmen 13/2025 is not a wholesale replacement of the curriculum. It reinforces the approach of Kurikulum Merdeka and Kurikulum 2013 through the "Pembelajaran Mendalam" (deep learning) policy. One of its concrete changes: adding Koding dan Kecerdasan Artifisial as a new elective subject, with the aim of strengthening computational thinking and AI literacy from school age.

This is the second year the programme has been running. Media discussion peaked from July 2025, when the regulation was first communicated to schools across Indonesia.

Why It Is "Optional" Rather Than "Compulsory"

Schools have three implementation options, not one fixed format:

As a standalone elective subject, with its own slot on the timetable.
Integrated into an existing subject, for example Informatics or Mathematics.
Run as an extracurricular activity, outside core teaching hours.

Which option a school takes depends on its own readiness: whether it has sufficiently trained teachers, whether it has computers or laptops, and whether the timetable allows it. As a result, two schools in the same city can implement it in genuinely different ways.

Which Year Groups Are Covered and Which Are Not

Level	Year	Status in 2025/2026
SD	5	Already implemented
SD	6	Not yet, to follow
SMP	7	Already implemented
SMP	8-9	Not yet, to follow
SMA/SMK	10	Already implemented
SMA/SMK	11-12	Not yet, to follow

💡 If your child is in a year group not on this list, their school is genuinely not yet required to run KKA. That does not mean your child has missed out or that the curriculum is wrong.

For a fuller explanation of teaching hours by level, the material covered, and other questions about KKA, our complete guide goes into detail: Coding and Artificial Intelligence Enters the Curriculum: A Parent's Guide.

If Your Child's School Is Not Teaching KKA Yet

The first step is not enrolling your child in a course, but asking the school. Ask whether KKA is in their plans, in what form (a subject, integrated, or extracurricular), and from which year group.

If it turns out there are no plans at all, and your child has already shown an interest of their own in coding or AI, that is a sensible reason to look for learning options outside school. Not because "every child has to know this", but because the interest is already there and the school cannot yet support it.

Algonova teaches coding for children online, ages 5-17, with more than 1,000,000 students in 97 countries since 2016. Classes are tiered: younger children start with block-based programming, teenagers move on to Python and AI development.

For children drawn directly to artificial intelligence rather than coding in general, there is a more focused programme: AI Classes for Children. It covers prompt engineering, creating images and video with AI tools, and portfolio projects that can be published, with AI ethics discussed throughout.

The easiest way to find the right starting point is a free diagnostic class. There is no obligation to continue afterwards.

Summary

KKA is an elective subject, not a compulsory one, under Permendikdasmen 13/2025.
In 2025/2026 it reaches only Year 5 of SD, Year 7 of SMP, and Year 10 of SMA/SMK.
Years 6, 8, 9, 11, and 12 are not yet covered, and will follow in stages in the coming years.
Schools may run it as a subject, as integrated content, or as an extracurricular activity; the form differs from school to school.
If your child's school is not teaching KKA, ask the school directly first, and only then consider options outside school if your child has shown an interest.

Sumber: Siaran Pers Kemendikdasmen: Permendikdasmen Nomor 13 Tahun 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Koding dan Kecerdasan Artifisial (KKA) subject compulsory for all students?

No, KKA has the status of an elective subject rather than a compulsory one, under Permendikdasmen No. 13 of 2025. Schools may choose one of three ways to implement it: as a standalone elective subject, integrated into an existing subject such as Informatics, or run as an extracurricular activity outside core hours. Because it is optional, not every school is required to run it, and the final decision rests with each individual school depending on the readiness of its teachers, equipment, and available teaching hours. If your child's school is not teaching KKA at all, that is not a breach of the rules — that is how the official scheme works. The most practical step is to ask the school directly whether and when KKA will be introduced.

Which year groups have implemented KKA in the 2025/2026 school year?

Only Year 5 of SD, Year 7 of SMP, and Year 10 of SMA/SMK have implemented KKA in the 2025/2026 school year, as the first stage of a phased rollout. Years 6, 8, 9, 11, and 12 are not yet covered by this subject and will follow in later school years as the programme expands. This pattern follows Kemendikdasmen's usual practice when introducing a new subject or curriculum: starting with one year group per level, then expanding in stages once teachers, teaching materials, and school infrastructure are better prepared. So if your child is in Year 6, 8, 9, 11, or 12 and there is no KKA at their school, it is simply not their turn yet — not a school failing to apply the rules.

What is the legal basis for the Coding and Artificial Intelligence subject?

The legal basis is Permendikdasmen No. 13 of 2025, a regulation issued by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education as an amendment to the curriculum provisions for early childhood, primary, and secondary education. The regulation is not a wholesale replacement of the curriculum but a reinforcement of the Kurikulum Merdeka and Kurikulum 2013 approach through the "Pembelajaran Mendalam" policy, and one of its concrete changes is the addition of Koding dan Kecerdasan Artifisial as a new elective subject from the 2025/2026 school year. The aim is to improve computational thinking, digital literacy, and understanding of AI ethics from school age. Official details on levels, teaching hours, and content elements can be read in the official Kemendikdasmen press release.

Why are some schools not teaching KKA even though the regulation exists?

Some schools are not yet teaching KKA because its status is optional rather than compulsory, and implementation depends on each school's readiness. Three main factors decide this: the availability of teachers trained well enough to teach computational thinking and AI literacy, the availability of equipment such as computers or laptops, and the availability of teaching hours on the timetable. Schools with limited resources, especially outside the major cities, often choose to postpone implementation until these factors are in place, or to choose a lighter format such as an extracurricular activity rather than a full subject. This is not a breach of the rules, because Permendikdasmen 13/2025 deliberately allows that flexibility. If you want to know the exact status, ask your child's school directly.

What can parents do if their child's school is not teaching KKA?

The most useful first step is to ask the school directly: whether KKA is planned, in what form, and from which year group, before considering other options. If it turns out there are no plans at all and your child has already shown an interest of their own in coding or artificial intelligence, looking for extra classes outside school becomes a sensible choice rather than an obligation. Algonova offers tiered online coding classes for ages 5-17, as well as a more focused programme for children drawn directly to AI through AI Classes for Children for ages 8-17. What is worth avoiding is enrolling a child out of panic at curriculum news, because your child's interest and their school's readiness are better reasons on which to decide.

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