Government Claims No Mass Layoffs for Honorary Teachers
Director General of Teachers and Education Personnel (GTK) at the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Nunuk Suryani, has assured that the government will not terminate the employment of non-civil servant (non-ASN) teachers currently teaching in public schools.
She claimed that the Minister of Basic and Secondary Education’s Circular (SE) No. 7 of 2026 on the Assignment of Non-Civil Servant Teachers in Educational Units aims to prohibit local governments from maintaining the non-ASN status of teachers next year.
“So what is not allowed is the non-ASN status next year. Not that the teachers cannot teach,” she said at the D Building of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Central Jakarta, on Monday, 11 May 2026.
Nunuk’s affirmation regarding no mass layoffs of honorary teachers is based on statements from the Minister of State Apparatus Utilisation and Bureaucratic Reform (PAN-RB), Rini Widyantini. Rini stated that although the non-ASN teacher status ends in December 2026, there will be no mass layoffs.
This is because the government is currently formulating teacher needs. The government also plans to open selections to upgrade the status of non-ASN teachers.
The selection will be opened for 237,196 non-ASN teachers registered in the Basic Education Data (Dapodik) as of December 2024. However, Nunuk could not yet confirm the certainty of this selection.
“The point is that the teachers continue their duties while the restructuring is ongoing,” she said.
She explained that SE Mendikdasmen 7/2026 was issued based on the mandate of Law No. 20 of 2023 on Civil Servants (ASN). Article 66 regulates the deadline for resolving the restructuring of non-ASN employees (honorary) no later than December 2024, and prohibits government agencies from appointing new non-ASN employees.
“Schools are part of government agencies. So there should be no status other than ASN in government agencies, including schools under local government,” she said.
However, until passing that deadline, there are still 237,196 non-ASN teachers registered in Dapodik as of December 2024 who have not been absorbed in the honorary teacher restructuring. In fact, the restructuring was completed in 2025.
On the other hand, local governments at that time still needed non-ASN teachers. Therefore, a Circular (SE) from the Minister of PAN-RB was issued, allowing local governments to assign non-ASN teachers and provide them with wages.
This year, the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education received reports from education office heads that they were afraid to extend the non-ASN teacher status in 2026. They needed a legal basis from the central government to extend the assignment of non-ASN teachers in 2026.
Therefore, the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education issued SE Mendikdasmen 7/2026 as a reference for education office heads throughout Indonesia. The SE aims to extend the status of 237,196 non-ASN teachers in 2026.
“Providing certainty of assignment for those teachers. They are no longer worried because local governments still have the need to continue assigning them,” she said.
Previously, the restriction on honorary teacher contracts in public schools stated in the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education Circular was issued on 23 March 2026. The letter states that the term of service for honorary teachers in public schools ends on 31 December 2026.
According to the information in the circular, there are a total of 237,196 non-ASN teachers still actively teaching in various regions. These hundreds of thousands of teachers are honorary personnel recorded in the basic education data as of 31 December 2024, but did not pass the PPPK selection.
Nevertheless, Director General of Teachers and Education Personnel at the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Nunuk Suryani, emphasised that the SE is actually intended to prevent dismissals of honorary personnel due to provisions in the ASN Law.
She said the circular is meant to give local governments a reference to continue employing and paying honorary teachers at least throughout this year.
“This information provides affirmation that although the ASN Law prohibits any designation other than ASN, the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education through that SE provides a policy basis for local governments to still employ non-ASN teachers,” said Nunuk when contacted on Thursday, 7 April 2026.