Investing in Education

The Singaporean government’s decision to raise the salaries of approximately 36,000 educators by 2% to 9% starting October 2026 demonstrates that teacher welfare is part of a strategy to maintain education quality. The government views teachers as vital assets who must be retained through competitive remuneration packages to attract and keep quality educators. Comparisons within the ASEAN region are quite striking. Citing Tribunnews, beginner teachers in Singapore receive around Rp44 million to Rp75 million per month, while in Brunei the figure reaches Rp31.6 million to Rp50 million. Malaysia and Thailand offer salaries ranging from approximately Rp7 million to Rp19 million per month. In Indonesia, the average teacher’s salary remains in the range of Rp3.8 million to Rp5.5 million per month. The difference is not merely a matter of numbers. The teaching profession demands competence, responsibility, and high dedication in shaping the quality of human resources. Adequate welfare is one of the important factors to ensure the profession remains attractive to the best talent and is able to produce quality education. However, Singapore’s experience also shows that a salary increase is not the sole answer. Competency development, career pathways, and workload management remain integral parts of maintaining the professionalism and appeal of the teaching profession. Welfare must go hand in hand with improving the quality of educators. Indonesia has endeavoured to improve teacher welfare through various policies, including certification, professional allowances, and competency enhancement. Nevertheless, the challenge of achieving more equitable teacher welfare still needs continuous improvement so that the profession becomes more desirable and capable of producing an excellent generation. Ultimately, the quality of education is not solely determined by the curriculum, infrastructure, or technology. Teachers remain the main factor in educational success. Therefore, improving both the welfare and professionalism of teachers must be seen as a long-term investment to strengthen the nation’s competitiveness. Raising teacher salaries is not a single solution to educational problems, but it is difficult to expect a significant increase in education quality if the welfare of educators is not made a priority. Indonesia’s challenge is to ensure that welfare improvements run in parallel with enhancements in recruitment quality, competence, and teacher evaluation systems to have a real impact on the quality of education.