Lampung teachers wait three months to be paid

Oyos Saroso H.N. The Jakarta Post/Bandarlampung

Thousands of contract teachers in Lampung have not been paid in the last three months, with some no longer being able to afford public transport in order to go to work.

Nur Aminah, a 24-year-old teacher at an elementary school in Bandarlampung, said that lack of money has put her in debt to an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver who takes her to school.

"Everything is expensive now, even ojek or public minivan fares have increased, but our salary is still not being paid. It's already hard enough for us to meet our daily needs," she said.

Nur and other contract teachers had asked about the late salary payments at Bank Rakyat Indonesia, where they usually pick up their salary, but the bank said they could only pay their salary once they receive money from Lampung province's Education Quality Assurance Body.

"Bank officials tell us to ask the body. The bank only receives transfers," Nur said.

Nur Mulyati, a contract teacher at an elementary school in Lampung, says she is lucky.

"My husband works at a shrimp pond so his earnings can cover our daily needs," said the 28-year-old who goes to work by bicycle. "But I feel sorry for those contract teachers in remote areas."

A contract teacher earns between Rp 350,000 (US$37) and Rp 500,000 per month depending, on their educational background.

They were hired through a program launched by Lampung provincial administration in 2003 to help elementary and junior high schools in the province deal with a shortage of teachers, as well as to reduce unemployment among educated people.

The contract teachers were recruited through a similar process as civil servants. However, although they have a teacher's status, those who have no educational background in teaching can become a contract teacher after several months of training.

Head of the Education Quality Assurance Body in Lampung, Dedi Hermanto, said the late payment occurred because the teachers' salary from March to May was included in the 2005 state budget.

"We just received the project list for teachers only in the first week of May and we directly worked on it. Hopefully, their salaries can be paid soon," Dedi said.

He said that after his office processed the list, it would then be handed to the State Treasury Office to be verified.

"After the list is verified at the State Treasury Office, the money is then sent to the bank," Dedi said.

He said it was not easy to pay teachers' salary on time. Apart from the late project list, many teachers have still not provided their bank account numbers, he added.

"There are some 7,000 contract teachers who we have to check one by one. The administrative process might take a long time, maybe over a week," he said.

Secretary of the Indonesian Teachers Dignity Forum, Gino Vanolie, urged the administration to immediately pay the contract teachers.

He said the provincial administration should not differentiate teachers' status and should not deny them of their rights.

"If teachers can't go to school because they don't have the money, then this is just unacceptable. We have received many complaints from teachers who have had to skip classes because they don't have the money to pay for public transport fares," he said.