Hope for improvement
Like everyone else, teachers must make a living in order for them and their families to be able to survive. Hence, the waves of protest which they staged in Jakarta and elsewhere in the country in the past few days must be seen as a legitimate part of their inalienable democratic rights. After all, what they are demanding is, in essence, little more than what under ordinary economic conditions could be regarded as a reasonable increase in their monthly salaries and allowances.
Improved management standards and a bigger allotment for education in the state budget was also among the reasonable demands aired in some of the teachers' protests of the past days. But most clearly, the emphasis was on improving the lot of those who, as is generally admitted, hold the moral and intellectual quality of Indonesia's future generations in their hands: its teachers.
There can be no doubt that under current government regulations, such increases are urgently needed. One state junior high school teacher in Jakarta, with 30 years of service, admits to earning no more than Rp 800,000 -- or the equivalent of about US$100 -- a month. Meager as that may sound, he is still better off than the elementary teacher in Jakarta who, with 17 years of service behind him, earns a mere Rp 500,000, or about the equivalent of $62.50 a month.
Similar stories of gloom can be told from all across this huge archipelago. Little wonder that few teachers, if any, in Indonesia can afford to devote themselves fully to teaching in the one school to which they are assigned. Most are compelled to supplement their earnings by offering private tuition to pupils or students who need it and can afford to pay for such extra services. Little wonder, too, that under such conditions education standards are bound to suffer, with the inescapable consequence that human-resource standards in Indonesia often lag behind those of many other countries in the world, including some countries in the Developing World.
Given all that has been said, it is welcome news that the Cabinet has, in principle, agreed to meet the teachers' demands, albeit only halfway. Under currently prevailing crisis conditions, Cabinet Secretary Marsilam Simanjuntak explained, there was no way the government could afford to increase teachers' basic salaries by 300 percent and allowances by 500 percent, as demanded. However, increases of between 100 percent and 200 percent in allowances for teachers and increments in their basic salaries to amounts that are to be decided later can be expected, even though this would tax the current state budget to the limit.
The important thing in all this is that both sides -- the teachers' associations on the one side and the government on the other -- appear to be ready at this point to work out together some kind of formula to avoid the kind of stand-off that is certain to damage the nation's interests, present and future. The time to find some kind of fair and workable solution to ease the lot of this country's grossly underpaid teachers has certainly come.
In the meantime, Indonesians must not forget that this country's present education problems are not rooted only in the low wages of teachers. The teaching profession itself has, for years, been the subject of much criticism. Professional and ethical standards, besides academic, in the teaching profession are among the issues that are often questioned by the public. Certainly it is fair for the tax-paying public to expect that a raise in salaries and other amenities for teachers be accompanied by improvements in these aspects.
The undisciplined and unruly behavior displayed by protesting teachers at the House of Representatives and elsewhere earlier this week, for example, are acts of conduct totally unworthy of bearers of a profession so selfless and noble as that of teachers.