Govt expects too much from poverty-line teachers: Union

Govt expects too much from poverty-line teachers: Union

Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The high absence rate of elementary school teachers is
understandable, as they are paid far below their monthly cost of
living, said the head of an educators union.

Indonesian Teachers Union (PGRI) chairman Mohammad Surya said
on Thursday the government lacked appreciation for teachers, who,
like other professionals, needed good salaries and a clear
status.

"I did a study on teachers' salaries in 1999, and found that a
teacher with a spouse and two children should receive a monthly
salary of at least Rp 2.5 million (US$271.7)," Surya told The
Jakarta Post.

However, with the price of many commodities having risen in
the past five years, the minimum salary was no longer valid, he
added.

"Considering recent developments, they need between Rp 3
million and Rp 4 million per month," he said.

In a speech before the House of Representatives on Monday,
President Megawati Soekarnoputri unveiled an increase in the 2005
education budget, but gave no sign of a salary hike for civil
servants, including teachers.

The government did not raise salaries for civil servants this
fiscal year, but provided a 13th month salary for them in July to
enable them to pay school tuitions and admissions fees, as well
as daily needs during the long school holiday.

A recent study by the SMERU Research Institute for the World
Development Report 2004 showed that Indonesia ranked third in the
average absence rate of elementary school teachers at 19 percent,
following Uganda at 39 percent and India at 25 percent.

Covering 147 state and private elementary schools in 10 major
cities and small towns, the study revealed that part-time
teachers had a higher absence rate of 27.8 percent compare to
full-time teachers at 18.2 percent.

According to the study, part-time teachers are paid between Rp
50,000 and Rp 450,000 per month, while full-time teachers receive
between Rp 782,000 and Rp 955,000.

Minimum monthly wages for provinces currently range from Rp
400,000 to Rp 700,000, depending on living costs in each
province.

Surya said the government's failure to improve teachers'
quality of life would keep the absence rate high, and it needed
to consider promoting part-time teachers into full-time teachers
so as to narrow the income gap.

However, Minister of National Education Abdul Malik Fajar
dismissed Surya's suggestion that the higher the salary, the
lower the teachers' absence rate.

"Teachers should realize they need to discipline themselves,
as they are carrying out a duty to improve the standard of
national education, regardless of their salary. Besides, they
also receive allowances.

"I urge all school principles to dismiss teachers who are
frequently absent," said Malik.

Surya suggested that the government distribute teachers evenly
so as to fulfill the demand for teachers across the country.

According to education ministry data, 1,129,475 teachers
taught elementary-level education in 2001.

"We need at least 400,000 more teachers," said Surya.

Malik Fajar said the government had recruited about 200,000
teachers this year for elementary, junior and senior high
schools.

Surya agreed with SMERU's recommendation that school structure
and facilities were contributing factors to the increased
absenteeism, saying the poor structure of state schools had
caused depression among teachers.

The education ministry's director general of elementary and
secondary education Indra Djati Sidi said the government had
allocated Rp 650 billion to each regency this year to renovate
elementary schools and to build more classrooms at junior high
schools.