The same old mentality<\/p>\n
Although teachers had not staged a protest since May last
\nyear, nobody was surprised when these educators were suddenly
\nback in the news last week. As usual their grievances soon caught
\nthe attention of the public. This shows that the majority of
\nIndonesians still pay them great respect and the public does not
\nto want to see the teachers mistreated. Wasn't the word guru
\nintroduced by Hindu followers here many centuries ago, meaning
\nspiritual teacher? What makes the story of the mismanagement of
\nteachers more disturbing this time round is that it was
\nperpetrated by the same old culprits: bureaucrats.<\/p>\n
Our teachers have been poorly paid since the birth of the
\nrepublic and as time went by the authorities chose to defend
\nthemselves rather than seek positive ways to enhance the
\nteachers' welfare. They used to claim that the teacher's low
\nsalaries was a common phenomenon here. What they failed to
\nrecognize was the important role teachers played in the nation's
\ncharacter building and the training of its future leaders.<\/p>\n
We heard stories of teachers moonlighting to make ends meet
\nand that their salaries were unilaterally cut by the bureaucracy
\nfor unclear reasons. Under the regime of president Soeharto,
\nteachers were not only forced to be members of Soeharto's
\npolitical party, Golkar, but also once in five years they had to
\nround up their students to vote for the party in the general
\nelection.<\/p>\n
However, as social and economic conditions improved so did the
\nteachers' lot, so the government propaganda machine claimed. But
\nin Jakarta last year, as this country commemorated National
\nEducation Day, thousands of teachers staged a protest rally,
\nmarching from the State Palace to the House of Representatives
\n(DPR), to demand a better salary. Their indignation was provoked
\nby president Abdurrahman Wahid's surprising action to sharply
\nincrease the salaries of himself, his Cabinet ministers and the
\nmembers of the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
To placate them Abdurrahman yielded and raised teachers'
\nsalaries to a level a little better than other civil servants.
\nAfter the storm there was a calm.<\/p>\n
However, trouble hit again last week. Thousands of primary and
\nhigh school teachers in East Java went on strike demanding back
\npay for their salary increase which took effect in January this
\nyear. The same protest was also lodged by teachers in Palembang,
\nSumatra, and Kutai, East Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
According to the central government the salaries of civil
\nservants had been sent to the provinces on time. But local
\nadministrations seem to have used the funds on other projects, an
\nofficial in Jakarta said on Friday. In Palembang a spokesman for
\nthe city administration said on Tuesday that the January to June
\nback pay of civil servants, which included teachers, would be
\npaid soon. Part of the back payment would be released soon, while
\nthe balance would be paid in the second week of December, just
\nbefore the Muslim holiday, Idul Fitri.<\/p>\n
The provincial governments have turned a deaf ear to the
\nteacher's demand and many of them blamed the central government
\nfor the chaos. This mentality has been witnessed here for
\ndecades. Here, in any crisis, or even catastrophe, no one comes
\nforward to claim responsibility, much less quit his or her post.
\nThey claim that to acknowledge responsibility is not part of the
\nIndonesian culture.<\/p>\n
What does this mean? Merely that in the future there will be
\nmore chaos.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-same-old-mentality-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}