School exams to be held on schedule<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration guaranteed on Monday
\nthat the state exams for elementary, junior and senior high
\nschools would run according to schedule as teachers have agreed
\nto continue working, despite their disappointment with the
\ngovernment-approved salary increase.<\/p>\n
Head of the city office of the Ministry of National Education
\nAlwi Nurdin said his office had approached several educational
\ninstitutions, like the Jakarta office of the Indonesian Teachers
\nUnion (PGRI), the Catholic Education Board and the Muhammadiyah
\nschool institution to uphold the students' interests in the first
\nplace.<\/p>\n
\"Insya Allah (God willing) the exams will run well as the
\nteacher institutions have agreed not to go on strike during the
\nstate exams, although they are dissatisfied with the government's
\ndecision,\" Alwi said.<\/p>\n
Instead of meeting the teachers' demand, the government only
\nraised their functional allowance by 150 percent.<\/p>\n
However, a meeting on April 17 between the government -- which
\nwas represented by the Ministry of National Education and the
\nMinistry of Finance -- and PGRI agreed to a 300 percent increase
\nin teachers' functional allowances.<\/p>\n
Alwi said the teachers would choose a more conceptional way to
\nfurther voice their demand.<\/p>\n
About 300,000 students of elementary, junior and senior high
\nschools will take the state exams this year.<\/p>\n
According to official scheduling, senior high school students
\nwill take their exams from May 22 until May 25, junior high
\nschool from May 29 until May 31, while elementary school students
\nwill sit theirs on June 5 and June 6.<\/p>\n
The exam fees this year are set at Rp 68,300 (US$9) for senior
\nhigh school students, Rp 81,000 for vocational high school
\nstudents and Rp 50,600 for junior high school students.<\/p>\n
The fee for elementary school students is set by the city
\neducation and teaching agency. It is usually subsidized by the
\ncity administration.<\/p>\n
Teachers in several areas outside the city earlier announced
\ntheir plan to stage a strike during the state exams, after the
\ngovernment did not to follow their demand of raising their
\nallowances.<\/p>\n
The amount of the allowance is far smaller than the teachers'
\nsalaries. The allowance is between Rp 45,000 to Rp 70,000 per
\nmonth, said PGRI's Jakarta office secretary general Sulaiman S.B.
\nIsmaya.<\/p>\n
\"We are disappointed with the government's decision, but to
\nboycott the exams is not our way of struggling for our interest,\"
\nIsmaya said.<\/p>\n
He said PGRI Jakarta, which has about 80,000 members, vowed to
\nmake the state exams successful.<\/p>\n
\"The state exams are something so important as they also
\nrelate to the nation's future.<\/p>\n
Moreover, some of the students are also the teachers'
\nchildren. So if there are still teachers who strike during the
\nexams, it is not under our coordination,\" he said.<\/p>\n
However, Ismaya said, teachers would still struggle for an
\nimprovement in their welfare.<\/p>\n
\"There are many other ways of struggling for the improvement
\nof teachers' welfare, like through dialog, discussions or
\nadvocation,\" he said. (ind)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/school-exams-to-be-held-on-schedule-1447893297",
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