Ministry of Higher Education: No Preferential Treatment for Garuda School Teachers
The Director of Transformative Learning Strategy and Systems at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Kemendiktisaintek), Ardi Findyartini, has responded to claims that housing facilities for teachers at the new SMA Unggul Garuda Baru (Garuda Excellence Senior High School) could create disparities with teachers at other schools.
Ardi, commonly known as Titin, stressed that providing accommodation within the boarding school complex is not a form of preferential treatment or luxury, but rather a consequence of distinctly different work demands. According to her, teachers and education staff at Garuda schools do not merely teach during formal lesson hours but also supervise co-curricular and extracurricular activities, as well as student mentoring in the dormitories.
“This is not about luxury, but about meeting the basic housing needs of teachers and education staff,” said Titin when met at the Kemendiktisaintek offices in South Jakarta on Wednesday, 18 February 2026.
She explained that the boarding school education model means teachers’ roles extend throughout nearly the entire day. With working hours assessed at close to 24 hours, she said the need for housing within the school complex is part of the working system, not an additional facility beyond professional duties.
The government has also established high competency and qualification standards for Garuda school teachers. Given the substantial workload and mentoring responsibilities, the government hopes to recruit the best educators. The housing facilities are considered support to enable them to carry out their roles optimally.
Titin rejected the notion that this policy creates a divide between Garuda school teachers and teachers at other schools. According to her, the model of teachers residing in dormitories has long been implemented at several elite boarding schools in Indonesia. This arrangement positions teachers as both educators and character mentors in students’ daily lives. “The job demands are simply like that,” she said.
Garuda schools are designed as elite science and technology-based institutions with a boarding system. The government considers this model to require different facility support compared to regular schools.
Nevertheless, the policy has prompted discussion about facility disparities amid conditions where the majority of teachers in Indonesia still face welfare and distribution challenges. The ministry maintains that housing facilities at Garuda schools are part of the boarding education system design, not a policy to differentiate teachers’ standing.