Low Reading Interest and Literacy Access Inequality: A Structural-Psychosocial Analysis in Indonesia

Abstract

The problem of low reading literacy in Indonesia has always been seen as the consequence of poor public interest in reading. The concept has become widely spread in the public discourse and mass media and even frequently used as a foundation for forming policies on how to improve literacy levels. Nevertheless, such an attitude might distort the nature of the problem and fail to see the structural and other factors that affect the process of reading. The main goal of this article is to conduct a critical analysis of whether the low literacy level in Indonesia is really associated with poor interest in reading or is affected by expensive books and poor access to books. The methodology used in this research is a literature review which is based on secondary data obtained from the reports of government agencies, national surveys, data-based media publications, and scientific literature. The results of this study show that the interest of Indonesians in reading has been growing every year in quantitative terms, as shown by the Reading Interest Index and Reading Enthusiasm Rate. Nevertheless, this growth has not been followed by access to books because of their high prices, low reading material availability rate, and unequal regional distribution. It means that literacy problems in Indonesia should be considered as economic and structural ones and not just the absence of interest in reading. Thus, sustainability of literacy policies lies in reducing the price of books and providing access to them.