Govt to review plan to withdraw state teachers
Govt to review plan to withdraw state teachers
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto agreed yesterday to review a
government plan to withdraw thousands of teachers on the state
payroll from private schools following strong protests from
religious leaders.
Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher said the order
came immediately after the president heard complaints directly
from the ulemas on the expected impact of the plan.
"The president has instructed me to contact the Minister of
Administrative Reforms T.B. Silalahi to re-examine the plan,"
Tarmizi told reporters.
Sixty-eight ulemas from East Java met with President Soeharto
at Merdeka Palace yesterday to discuss various issues, including
the recently announced education plan.
The withdrawal of state teachers from private schools will
particularly hurt religious schools, including the pesantren
(Moslem boarding schools), which are run by some of the ulemas
present yesterday.
While many private schools in Indonesia are running profitable
ventures, thousands of them are actually run on shoestring
budgets and could not survive without the support of the
government.
Tarmizi explained that Soeharto made the decision to have the
plan reviewed after it was pointed out to him by the ulemas that
the government's nine-year compulsory school program could be
hampered if the government withdrew its support.
Tarmizi was quoted by Antara news agency as saying that the
government had hoped to save Rp 133 billion ($57 million) a year
by withdrawing the teachers currently working at private schools.
During the meeting with the ulemas, President Soeharto noted
the important role played by private institutions in the
government's education program.
He acknowledged that the first phase of the compulsory
schooling program introduced in 1984 could not have succeeded
without the participation of the private institutions.
Compulsory
The government introduced six-year compulsory education for
children aged six and over in 1984. It has achieved more than 90
percent enrollment 10 years later. Last year, the government
extended the program to nine years.
Apart from bringing up the issue of teachers, several ulemas
yesterday also raised the question of a bridge connecting East
Java's provincial capital of Surabaya and the island of Madura.
The ulemas said that without the president's personal support,
the bridge would not be built.
The construction of a six-kilometer bridge between Surabaya
and Madura was originally scheduled to start this year. It has
been postponed indefinitely, partly because of some local
opposition.
State Minister of Agrarian Affairs/Chief of the National Land
Agency, Soni Harsono, announced earlier this year that the delay
was caused by the complicated land acquisition process.
Tipped to be the longest in southeast Asia, the bridge is
aimed at facilitating the expansion and relocation of industries
from Surabaya to Madura.
Some of Madura's religious leaders are known to oppose the Rp
400 billion (US$180 million) project initiated by Minister of
Research and technology B.J. Habibie. According to the original
plan, about 80 percent of the necessary funds would be provided
by the Japanese Overseas Economic Cooperation and Fund.
The Madura ulemas fear that besides bringing industrialization
to the largely arid island, the bridge would expose the islanders
to cultures that could threaten their own.
"The only way to develop Madura is through industry. Surabaya
is already crammed," Soeharto said, adding that a study is
currently underway on the feasibility of the bridge.
The president added that the people of Madura should help with
the development of the bridge. "If it is economical, then there
will be a return on what is being invested," he said.
The President pointed out that Habibie is currently
constructing a bridge linking the islands of Galang and Batam.
(mds)