New law aims to improve welfare of teachers
New law aims to improve welfare of teachers
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The long-awaited bill on teachers and lecturers promises greater
appreciation for these professions, and charges the government
with the responsibility of improving the quality of life of the
nation's educators.
The bill, however, only applies to teachers and lecturers
working in state educational institutions, but not to those
employed by private ones.
Full-time teachers and lecturers will be entitled to receive a
couple of additional monthly allowances as well as educational
benefits for their children.
In the latest draft of the bill, which is expected to be
passed into law on Tuesday by the House of Representatives,
teachers and lecturers will be remunerated at a level that is
above the minimum cost of living, with their take-home pay
consisting of a basic salary, an allowance based on the salary, a
professional allowance, a functional allowance and additional
performance-based benefits.
The monthly professional allowance will be awarded to teachers
and lecturers who have been certified by a government-appointed
educational institute.
This certification system is expected to be put in place over
the next six months. In order to obtain certification, a teacher
must hold at least a bachelor degree.
"Those who do not will be given the opportunity at the
government's expense to bring their educational levels up to
scratch," said lawmaker Heri Akhmadi from the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), who heads the committee
deliberating the bill.
The amount of the professional allowance will be equal in size
to the basic salary.
A special allowance, along with housing, will be awarded to
teachers and lecturers working in special areas. These areas will
be designated in subsequent government regulations.
Teachers and lecturers will also receive benefits in the form
of priority scholarships for themselves and their children.
As for teachers and lecturers working in private institutions,
Heri said the House would immediately draft a new legislation to
cover them so they would also be entitled to receive such
allowances.
In return, the bill obliges teachers and lecturers to take
responsibility for designing and evaluating their subjects as
well as upgrading their academic qualifications.
To support quality improvement, teachers and lecturers are
entitled to take sabbatical leave to pursue studies while still
receiving their salaries and allowances.
In emergencies, the government will be permitted to compel
teachers and/or other Indonesians who have the required academic
qualifications to teach in special areas across the country.
"None of these efforts to support teachers and lecturers will
ever come to pass without the government making an effort to
allocate 20 percent of the state budget to the education sector,"
said Heri.
For fiscal 2006, the Ministry of National Education has been
allocated some Rp 35 trillion, or around 8.1 percent of the total
state budget.
Education and the quality of life of teachers and lecturers
have long been at the end of Indonesian governments' lists of
priority, leading to an abysmal record in the country's education
sector.