Disdik: Kepri Short of Around 1,500 Teachers, Especially in Batam

The Head of the Education Office (Disdik) of Kepulauan Riau Province (Kepri), Andi Agung, stated that the need for teachers or educators in the region is still short by around 1,500 people for 280 schools spread across seven regencies/cities in the area. “The need for teachers is evenly distributed across all regencies/cities, especially Batam with the densest population. Each school needs five to six teachers,” Agung said in Tanjungpinang on Sunday. According to him, the high demand for teachers in Kepri coincides with the increasing number of junior high school (SMP) graduates or equivalent entering senior high schools (SMA), vocational high schools (SMK), and special needs schools (SLB) in Kepri each year. His office has mapped the data on teacher needs in each educational unit, dominated by shortages in subject teachers and vocational teachers for the SMK level. “The data will be submitted to the Kepri Regional Civil Service Agency (BKD), to then propose teacher CPNS formations gradually to the central government,” he said. In addition, Agung continued, this year the Kepri Provincial Government (Pemprov) is also building ten New School Units (USB) at the SMA, SMK, and SLB levels to accommodate new students. Meanwhile, eight other USBs are being built by the central government through the state budget (APBN) with a budget of Rp8 billion per school, spread across Batam, Lingga, Tanjungpinang, to Natuna. “The aim is to ensure even access to education for our children in all regions, especially in the outermost islands like Natuna,” said the Head of Disdik Kepri, Andi Agung.