NTT needs more 3,200 teachers: Governor

NTT needs more 3,200 teachers: Governor

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang

Resolutions for major educational problems in East Nusa
Tenggara are likely years away. A persistent shortage of teachers
in the province remains far from being fulfilled, while the
welfare of those hanging on is nowhere near improvement.

Many teachers have given up teaching in the province
altogether, as the government has failed to provide for them in
accordance with their rights -- which include long-overdue,
adequate salaries.

In a recent visit to the Alor, Kupang and East Flores
regencies, The Jakarta Post found that just about every school
was facing a severe shortage of teachers.

"I had to quit the school, I had received nothing for my
services for months," said Abraham Laot, a former teacher at a
state elementary school in the island of Raijua in East Flores.
"I couldn't stand it any longer."

Annual records on the number of teachers quitting their
schools are not available.

An elderly resident of the Ternate village in Southeast Alor
district in the regency of Alor, confirmed the teachers' plight.

"The first elementary school was built in the 1980s -- there
were three teachers initially, but their salaries had always been
paid weeks, or months, after payday. Their rights, including
their allowances, had been ignored. They quit months later, and
the pupils have been abandoned since then," said Muhamad Tehing.

According to the province's Bureau of Statistics (BPS), there
are 3,958 elementary schools with a total of 615,469 students in
the province. The number of teachers is 25,695, meaning that for
each elementary school, which has an average of 156 students,
there are only six teachers.

BPS data also reveals that the province has 541 junior high
schools with a total number of students at 122,846 and 8,142
teachers. This means that for every 15 teachers, there is an
average of 227 students.

In general, the number of senior high schools is 152, with a
total student roster of 47,685. The senior high schools,
meanwhile, have a total of 3,453 teachers. These figures show
that, for every 314 students, each school has 23 teachers.

The province, according to BPS, has 53 technical senior high
schools with 1,578 teachers and 20,125 students. This means that
each technical high school has 30 teachers per 380 students.

Based on these figures, the administration needs 3,200 more
teachers -- 1,700 for elementary schools and 1,500 for high
schools.

East Nusa Tenggara Governor Piet A. Tallo does not turn a deaf
ear to the problems. But he seems unable to do anything to remedy
the situation and help the teachers.

"The government has been working hard to pay attention to the
welfare of teachers posted in remote areas in the province ...
Yes, we have been facing educational problems, including the need
for least 3,200 more teachers," Piet A. Tallo told the teachers
at the anniversary of the Indonesian Teachers' Association (PGRI)
on Monday.