P2G Urges Government Not to Dismiss Non-ASN Teachers

The Indonesian Teachers’ and Education Association (P2G) is urging the government not to dismiss non-civil servant (non-ASN) teachers in public schools. The organisation is calling for the government to appoint these honorary teachers as full-time government employees with work agreements (PPPK).

“The state should be grateful to these non-ASN honorary teachers; they are the ones fulfilling the need for teachers in our schools and madrasahs,” said P2G National Coordinator Satriwan Salim in a written statement on Thursday, 7 May 2026.

P2G’s statement responds to the issuance of Circular Letter from the Minister of Basic and Secondary Education No. 7 of 2026. The letter states that the assignment of non-ASN teachers will be carried out until 31 December 2026.

According to P2G, the presence of honorary teachers has so far supported the learning process because the distribution of ASN teachers across various regions is not yet even. The organisation assesses that the cessation of PNS teacher recruitment in the last seven years has exacerbated the shortage of teaching staff in public schools.

P2G notes that Law No. 20 of 2023 on ASN has actually prohibited local governments and schools from recruiting new honorary teachers. Article 66 of the law mandates that the arrangement of non-ASN employees must be completed no later than December 2024, and government agencies are prohibited from appointing non-ASN employees other than ASN employees.

However, according to Satriwan, the issuance of SE from the Minister of Basic and Secondary Education No. 7 of 2026 is actually intended to provide certainty of status and remuneration for non-ASN teachers. “Even the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education through that SE commits to providing incentives for non-ASN teachers until 31 December 2026 who do not receive professional allowances from the centre,” he said.

P2G also highlights the governance of PPPK teachers, which is assessed to still leave many problems. The organisation records that there are still more than 200,000 honorary teachers who have not been appointed as PPPK ASN. In addition, PPPK teacher recruitment from 2019 to 2024 is said to be marred by budget issues, job analysis, career uncertainty, and discrimination.

Satriwan said these issues have become more complicated following the issuance of Minister of PAN-RB Decision No. 16 of 2025 on Part-Time PPPK. According to him, that scheme has led some teachers to receive very low salaries or even unpaid for months.

“These part-time PPPK teachers are former honorary or non-PNS staff; they were appointed as ASN by local governments, but to this day they have not received their salaries. Their salaries are also inhumane, some get 150,000, 200,000, 300,000. Even many have not received salaries for the last 4 months,” said Satriwan.

P2G states that the problem of delayed salaries for part-time PPPK teachers occurs in several regions such as Banten, West Java, Central Java, North Sumatra, West Nusa Tenggara, and East Nusa Tenggara. The organisation assesses that this condition contradicts the principles of ASN management that guarantee legal certainty, welfare, and justice.

In addition to calling on the government to appoint honorary teachers as full-time PPPK, P2G is urging the government to reopen PNS teacher recruitment. “There is not a single education graduate who aspires to become a PPPK teacher, let alone a non-ASN honorary teacher. They all dream of becoming PNS teachers,” said Satriwan.

Head of P2G Teacher Advocacy Division Iman Zanatul Haeri said the government needs to simplify the national teacher governance, which is currently spread across various ministries and agencies. According to him, teacher management involves local governments, the National Civil Service Agency, the Ministry of PAN-RB, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance.

“To untangle the tangled threads of national teacher governance, in order to build fair and quality education, to fulfil the constitutional mandate to educate the nation’s life, it is time for President Prabowo to establish a National Teacher Agency,” said Iman.

Minister of Basic and Secondary Education Abdul Mu’ti said the ban on non-civil servant (ASN) teachers teaching from 30 December 2026 aims to provide certainty of status and welfare to teachers. The ban is stated in Ministerial Circular Letter No. 7 of 2026 on the Assignment of Non-Civil Servant (ASN) Teachers in Educational Units, issued on 23 March 2026.

Mu’ti explained that the decision is a follow-up to the implementation of the 2023 ASN Law which prohibits honorary or non-ASN personnel from teaching in public schools. According to Mu’ti, the decision should have been implemented in 2024. However, due to the many unresolved honorary issues, the ministerial decision prohibiting non-ASN teachers from teaching in public schools will only apply in 2027.

“So that is actually a consequence of the implementation of the ASN Law which should apply in 2024,” said Mu’ti during a press conference at the Government Communication Agency (Bakom) Office in Jakarta on Wednesday, 6 May 2026.