DPR Member States Lecturer Allowance Provisions Already Comply with Standards
Jakarta, Indonesia – A member of Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR), Rudianto Lallo, has responded to a constitutional challenge filed by I Ketut Astawa and Reytman Aruan, permanent lecturers at the Faculty of Law at Singaperbangsa Karawang University, against Law No. 14 of 2005 concerning Teachers and Lecturers, on Thursday, 26 February 2026.
In his statement, Rudianto stated that the discussion of lecturer income has been conducted in depth during meetings of the Working Committee of Commission X of the DPR together with the government.
“The discussion focused specifically on fair and adequate income above the cost of living. Professional allowance is set once when a lecturer obtains an educator certificate,” said Rudianto during a hearing at the Constitutional Court building on Thursday.
Functional allowance, meanwhile, is granted in accordance with increases in academic rank.
He also explained that the regulation of functional allowance in Article 54 paragraph (1) of the Teachers and Lecturers Law refers to Article 52 paragraph (1) and Article 51 paragraph (1) letter a of the same law.
The explanation of Article 52 paragraph (1) provides limits on the components of lecturer income, namely basic salary, professional allowance, and special allowance.
“Fundamentally, the regulation of lecturer functional allowance in Article 54 paragraph (1) of the Teachers and Lecturers Law is based on Article 52 paragraph (1) and Article 51 paragraph (1) letter a concerning Teachers and Lecturers. The explanation of Article 52 paragraph (1) provides a definition of the scope of each income received by lecturers, namely basic salary, professional allowance, and special allowance,” he said.
Based on this legal construction, the DPR believes that the provisions of the Teachers and Lecturers Law have already provided clear normative standards.
Previously, the petitioners felt their constitutional rights had been harmed by the application of Article 54 paragraph (1) of the Teachers and Lecturers Law.
The petitioners argued that this provision does not provide recognition, assurance, protection, and fair legal certainty as guaranteed in Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution, nor does it uphold the right to a prosperous life as regulated in Article 28H paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution.
The petitioners contended that Article 54 paragraph (1) of the Teachers and Lecturers Law does not explicitly mandate further regulation regarding functional allowance.
The government instead issued Presidential Regulation No. 65 of 2007 concerning Lecturer Allowance, which sets functional allowance at approximately 1.5 million rupiah for professors, around 900,000 rupiah for senior lecturers, 700,000 rupiah for lecturers, and 375,000 rupiah for assistant professors.
This demonstrates that Article 54 paragraph (1) of the Teachers and Lecturers Law does not provide adequate constitutional direction to ensure the petitioners’ welfare rights are fulfilled fairly and sustainably.