Govt begins housing teachers to help improve dedication

By Prapti Widinugraheni

MERAUKE, Irian Jaya (JP): The government has launched a new housing program for its teachers in the hope of making them more dedicated in their work.

The first housing program for teachers, one of the country's lowest paid professions, is now being constructed in Merauke and is intended chiefly for teachers who are assigned to remote areas.

Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro laid the first stone in the construction of the housing complex here on Tuesday.

So many teachers have had to take second or even third jobs to supplement their meager income that some officials and parents are beginning to doubt their dedication to their profession.

"Migrant teachers are often too busy earning money to pay their rent, they hardly remember their main job of teaching," Wardiman pointed out during the ceremony.

By providing housing, the teachers would be more motivated and dedicated to their work. "To create dedication, appreciation or reward is necessary," he reasoned.

Carried out under an agreement between the ministries of education and culture and of public works, the housing complex will be built on some two hectares of land and is expected to accommodate 150 small houses.

Wardiman recognized the services of teachers who are posted in remote areas.

"They face greater problems than those in urban areas, such as lack of communication and transportation .. This means that greater dedication is expected of them."

Wardiman also disclosed that the government will try as far as possible to assign teachers to their respective locality, instead of sending them to faraway places is the practice now.

Many teachers who are assigned in faraway places often suffer from homesickness, he said.

Hometowns

Many teachers working in Irian Jaya are not natives of the province but come from elsewhere, especially Java.

"Thus, they face the double responsibility of teaching and adapting to their new surrounding," Wardiman said.

For this reason, he continued, the government has decided to post teachers in their respective hometowns, so they will find no difficulty in adapting to an already familiar environment.

During a discussion with some 1,000 teachers here afterwards, the issue was also brought up.

The teachers, who used the opportunity to air their complaints and grievances, said the 150 houses now being built in the complex are hardly sufficient.

"There are at least 1,000 teachers in the regency," said one teacher.

They also complained of not receiving teaching modules and other teaching material on time and insisted the "central government" do something about it.

Wardiman in his response assured them that he would discuss the matter of more houses with the ministry of public works who oversees public housing affairs.