Islands teachers to get more benefits
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The city administration is to upgrade the status of temporary teachers who pass a special examination to contract teachers as part of an attempt to improve their well-being, especially those working in the newly-established Kepulauan Seribu regency.
"All temporary teachers will be given the chance to improve their status by taking a special test that is scheduled for sometime in September," Governor Sutiyoso told reporters on Friday.
"Should the teachers pass the examination, they will get a one-year contract from the city administration, which can be extended."
Currently, temporary teachers only get between Rp 100,000 and Rp 200,000 (US$11 to $22) per month.
A contract would entitle them to receive a salary of up to Rp 750,000. Even those who fail the test, however, will receive a salary raise based on the provincial minimum wage of Rp 596,000 per month.
Meanwhile, city spokesman Muhayat said that priority would be given to teachers in the Kepuluan Seribu regency, as promised by Sutiyoso to the islands' teachers on Thursday.
Sutiyoso visited Untung Jawa Island to inaugurate several infrastructure projects worth Rp 10.5 billion (US$1.1 million), including port and sanitation facilities.
Previously a district of the North Jakarta mayoralty, the regency is considered the least developed of the city's five second level administrative regions due to its geographical isolation.
"The only way to improve the quality of the Seribu islanders is by improving the level of education there.
"Therefore, the city administration is providing more incentives for teachers so as to give them extra motivation," Muhayat said.
Currently, there are about 30 permanent teachers and 95 temporary teachers paid by the city working in the Seribu Islands.
Meanwhile, the permanent teachers will get an additional six days added on to their 12 days annual leave, which can be taken three times a year so that they can visit the mainland, as a further incentive.
The teachers and each of their family members will also receive allowances when taking annual leave.
The new policy is expected to start in September pending the approval of the City Council.
"But even if we cannot start the incentive program this year, the teachers will be enjoying the benefits by next January," said Muhayat.
In a separate development, in Bekasi dozens of temporary junior high school teachers demanded on Friday that the Bekasi municipal administration recruit them as permanent teachers.
"Our job is to increase the public's level of education but the administration must pay attention to our welfare," one of the teachers, Dadi Suryadi, was quoted as saying by Antara.
The teachers demanded that the administration prioritize them during the next recruitment drive planned for sometime in September.