Controversy over Non-ASN Teachers: Government Urged to Assess Teacher Needs in Indonesia

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of Commission X of the House of Representatives, Lalu Hadrian Irfani, has urged the government to calculate the needs and availability of teachers in Indonesia.

This call was made in response to Circular Letter No. 7 of 2026 from the Minister of Basic and Secondary Education regarding teachers who are not civil servants or non-ASN.

“The government, particularly the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, must accurately recalculate the number of teacher needs and availability throughout Indonesia, both ASN and non-ASN teachers,” Lalu stated in his remarks on Monday (11/5/2026).

Currently, he sees the grouping or categorisation of teachers as one of the issues causing inequality and career uncertainty.

Therefore, Lalu proposes a single national teacher status, namely as civil servants (PNS).

“We ask President Prabowo to abolish the categorisation of teachers. There should no longer be groupings of teacher statuses that cause disparities. In the future, there must be a single national teacher status, which is PNS. No more PPPK teachers or part-time PPPK teachers,” Lalu said.

Teacher welfare will also be more equitable, as recruitment, distribution, and career development are regulated by the central government.

“Teachers are the main foundation of Indonesia’s human resource development. Therefore, the state must provide certainty of status, career, and equal welfare for all teachers,” Lalu stated.

Nunuk quoted the statement of the Minister of State Apparatus Utilisation and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB), Rini Widyantini, who had previously stated that there would be no layoffs of non-ASN teachers.

“Although non-ASN status ends in 2026, the Minister of PANRB has stated that there will be no mass layoffs because the government is formulating how to meet future teacher needs,” said Nunuk during a press conference at the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education office in Central Jakarta on Monday (11/5/2026).

Currently, the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education is formulating how to select and scheme the selection of non-ASN teachers so that their status is clear.

Nunuk explained that Circular Letter No. 7 of 2026 from the Minister of Basic and Secondary Education serves as a reference for local governments to continue employing non-ASN teachers.

“Actually, according to the local governments themselves, they still very much need those teachers. So what is not allowed is the non-ASN status next year, not that the teachers are not allowed to teach,” Nunuk emphasised.