Students rally for support teachers' cause<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Fears of nationwide teacher strikes to mark
\nNational Education Day on Tuesday were unfounded, but in some
\nareas of the country students took to the streets on their
\nteachers behalf.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman Wahid praised teachers for their
\nmeritorious service in educating students, but declined to touch
\non teachers' complaints about their meager wages and poor living
\nconditions.<\/p>\n
At the State Palace, the President led a special ceremony to
\nmark National Education Day. The event was attended by several
\nCabinet ministers and officials from the Ministry of National
\nEducation.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman pointed the finger of blame at the New Order
\nregime, which he said was responsible for the current poor state
\nof education. "The government must focus more on efforts to
\nimprove the quality of human resources, which have been neglected
\nfor more than 30 years."<\/p>\n
National Education Day falls on the birthday of Ki Hajar
\nDewantara, who founded the Taman Siswa school in Yogyakarta in
\n1922.<\/p>\n
Speaking to journalists in his office, Minister of National
\nEducation Yahya Muhaimin again called on teachers to understand
\nthat the government was unable to fulfill their demands for
\nhigher pay.<\/p>\n
"We also have to think about civil servants from other
\nsectors, such as medics and military personnel, who also have low
\nincomes," Yahya said.<\/p>\n
While the day was being celebrated at the palace, hundreds of
\nhigh school and university students marched from the State Palace
\non Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara to the Ministry of National Education
\non Jl. Sudirman.<\/p>\n
Waving posters and banners, the students demanded a pay raise
\nfor teachers and an increase in the amount of state budget
\nallotted for national education. They also urged the revocation
\nof the long-standing title for teachers as "national heroes
\nwithout medals", saying this was a poor substitute for decent
\nsalaries.<\/p>\n
In Bandung, hundreds of students from the city and the
\nneighboring towns of Garut, Tasikmalaya, Subang and Ciamis staged
\na protest in front of the provincial legislature building on Jl.
\nDiponegoro.<\/p>\n
They urged the government to simplify the current education
\ncurriculum. "Up to now, Abdurrahman's Cabinet has not given
\nnational education its due, as the management, infrastructure and
\nteachers' welfare are totally neglected," one of the
\ndemonstrators said.<\/p>\n
The commemoration of National Education Day was also marked by
\na student rally in the Central Java capital of Semarang.<\/p>\n
Around 100 students from the state-owned Teachers Training
\nInstitute marched to the provincial legislative council demanding
\na larger portion of the national budget go toward education.<\/p>\n
Some 200 students from a number of universities in the East
\nJava capital of Surabaya marked the day by marching to the
\nGrahadi building on Jl. Soerjo, waving posters and banners
\nprotesting the government's education policies.<\/p>\n
Violence tarnished rallies in Jayapura, Irian Jaya, when
\nhundreds of Cendrawasih University students destroyed a police
\ncar and the official car of the province's caretaker governor,
\nMusiran.<\/p>\n
Eyewitnesses said employees and staff members from the
\nuniversity were holding a flag-raising ceremony in observance of
\nNational Education Day when the governor and his entourage
\nentered Trikora Square, adjacent to the campus, for a similar
\nceremony.<\/p>\n
A student identified as Bonafius said the governor and traffic
\npolice officers did not respect Indonesia's national flag. "We
\nasked them to stop for a short time (until the ceremony was
\ncompleted), but they refused. That shows their ignorance."<\/p>\n
In the Aceh capital of Banda Aceh, about 50 students from the
\nIslamic Student Action Front staged a protest at the council
\nbuilding on Jl. Tengku Nyak Arief, demanding a stop to violence
\nin the province and the burning of schools there.<\/p>\n
Waving banners with various slogans, including "Find the
\nSchool Arsonists", "Stop Violence" and "We Want Our Teachers
\nBack", the students voiced their concern over the more than 130
\nschools that had been burned down by armed groups over the last
\nseveral months.<\/p>\n
"Dozens of teachers have fled the province and several were
\nkilled during the fighting here," Muhammad Didi, the group's
\ncoordinator, said.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, students and teachers joined forces to demand
\nlower education fees and an increase in teacher salaries. They
\nmarked the day by marching to the legislative council building.<\/p>\n
In Makassar, South Sulawesi, teachers did not keep their
\npromise to go on strike.<\/p>\n
"Let's be patient. The government has promised to fulfill our
\ndemand," said Umar, the principal of a local senior high school.<\/p>\n
The demonstration in Makassar was staged by hundreds of
\nstudents from Hasanuddin University. Like other demonstrators,
\nthey demanded the government focus more attention on national
\neducation.<\/p>\n
In Pekanbaru, Riau, hundreds of elementary school teachers
\ngathered to demand higher salaries and allowances. They
\nthreatened to go on strike for a week starting next Monday if
\ntheir demands for a transportation allowance and overtime pay
\nwere not met. (08\/25\/27\/nur\/har\/eba\/swa\/edt\/sur\/dja\/prb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/students-rally-for-support-teachers-cause-1447893297",
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