Assessing the Direction of Welfare Policy for Honorary Teachers
By Tati, S.Pd., MPA, Permanent Lecturer in Public Administration, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta
Honorary teachers have long served as the primary operational backbone of many state schools in Indonesia, particularly at the primary education level and in remote areas. Amid the limited distribution of Civil Service Apparatus (ASN) teachers, their presence ensures that the teaching and learning process continues. Yet conversely, this significant contribution is not always accompanied by certainty of status and adequate welfare.
The topic of honorary teacher welfare has never faded, especially since the government introduced the Government Employees with Employment Agreements (PPPK) policy. Whilst this policy opens opportunities for affirmative action, not all honorary teachers have been accommodated. Incentive programmes, wage subsidy assistance, and competency development have not yet fully addressed structural root causes such as fragmented funding systems and uneven teacher distribution across regions.
Assessing the direction of welfare policy for honorary teachers means taking a comprehensive view of empirical conditions, regulatory frameworks, implementation barriers, and the possibility of future structural reform. The perspective employed is not merely about budgets, but also concerns social justice and long-term education quality.
Empirical Portrait
Quantitatively, Indonesia has millions of teaching staff. The 2025 Education Statistics publication from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that the national teacher count is relatively high, but distribution is uneven across regions. In many areas, particularly 3T regions (frontier, outermost, and disadvantaged), schools remain heavily dependent on non-ASN or honorary teachers.
From the welfare perspective, the issues that arise are far from simple. Many honorary teachers receive earnings below the Regional Minimum Wage standard and depend on School Operational Assistance (BOS) funds. Because BOS is managed according to regional fiscal capacity, the honoraria received by honorary teachers vary considerably. This disparity not only creates economic inequality between regions but also has the potential to affect teachers’ stability and work motivation.
On the other hand, various recent policies are beginning to show tangible impact. In 2025, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education disbursed Teacher Professional Allowances (TPG) to more than 1.4 million ASN teachers, Special Allowances to more than 57,000 teachers, and Additional Income Funds to more than 191,000 teachers. For non-ASN teachers, Professional Allowances were received by more than 400,000 teachers, Special Allowances by more than 43,000 teachers, Incentives by more than 365,000 teachers, and Wage Subsidy Assistance (BSU) by more than 253,000 non-formal early childhood education teachers.
Furthermore, in 2026, the incentive amount for non-ASN teachers rose from Rp300,000 to Rp400,000 per month, targeting nearly 800,000 recipient teachers. This incentive increase serves as a positive signal that the state is beginning to pay greater attention to honorary teacher welfare, although structural challenges have not yet been fully unravelled.
An international study by Gámez-Genovart, Oliver-Trobat, and Rosselló-Ramón (2025) entitled “Research on Teacher Well-Being: A Systematic Review” in the journal Teaching and Teacher Education demonstrates that teacher welfare correlates directly with learning quality and student engagement. This means that teacher welfare policy is not merely an administrative matter, but a strategic education policy.