Coding and AI literacy as a universal curriculum entitlement: Supporting equity in the Indonesian school curriculum

The Indonesian school curriculum is now at the intersection of national educational aspirations, rapid technological change and persistent inequalities.This article offers a curriculumstudies perspective on Indonesia's introduction of coding and artificial intelligence (AI), arguing that foundational coding and AI literacy should be treated as a universal curricular entitlement, whereas more advanced study may remain elective.Implementation should therefore be judged not by technological adoption alone, but by educational quality, equity, justice and students' capacity to exercise an informed agency.Within Indonesia's nationally regulated curriculum, coding and artificial intelligence were formally introduced as elective learning from the 2025/2026 school year, with phased implementation beginning in grades 5, 7 and 10.Schools may offer the subject according to teacher readiness and available resources, while coding and AI competencies may also be integrated into other subjects or extracurricular activities Badan Standar, Kurikulum, dan Asesmen Pendidikan (2025).Unplugged activities, learning computing concepts without digital devices, are also recognised, which is useful where connectivity and equipment are limited.This flexibility is pragmatic but creates a curriculum equity problem.Schools differ in infrastructure, connectivity, teacher expertise and external support; consequently, elective provision may give already advantaged students greater access to emerging knowledge.Therefore, a distinction is needed between advanced elective study and a