Govt to raise teachers' salary

JAKARTA: In addition to providing scholarships for disadvantaged students, the government plans to raise the monthly salaries of teachers and provide students with free books.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono unveiled the plan for the use of savings from the reduction in the fuel subsidy through the planned fuel price hikes in April, former Indonesian ambassador to Canada Ekky Syahrudin said on Tuesday after a meeting with the President.

"The President specifically said that the fund would target the poorest of the poor," he told journalists.

Susilo has vowed to personally monitor the disbursement of some Rp 10.5 trillion (US$1.13 billion) from the state budget to assist the poor.

The fund, a new item in the 2005 state budget, is aimed at easing the impact of the fuel price increases on low-income families.

The money along with an additional Rp 7.8 trillion from last year's budget would be allocated largely for education, health services, the provision of free rice and the construction of rural infrastructure. --JP