Parliament: Basic Education Minister's Circular on Transitioning Honorary Teachers to PPPK

Regarding the Circular from the Minister of Basic Education No. 7 of 2026, the Chair of DPR Commission X, Hetifah Sjaifudian, has asked the government to ensure that the reorganisation of non-civil servant teachers is carried out gradually, in a measured manner, and prioritising the continuity of educational services in public schools. According to Hetifah, the Minister’s Circular is part of the reorganisation of educators in accordance with the mandate of the ASN Law, as well as the elimination of the term ‘honorary teacher’ starting in 2027 through a transition scheme to Government Employees with Work Agreements (PPPK).

“The policy is part of the reorganisation of educators in accordance with the ASN Law mandate, as well as the elimination of the ‘honorary teacher’ term starting in 2027 with a transition scheme to PPPK,” she stated, as quoted from a written statement on Friday (15/5).

Furthermore, Hetifah assessed that the government’s step in simplifying the teacher civil service system deserves appreciation because it aims to create certainty of status and better governance of educators. However, she reminded that the implementation of the policy must still consider the real conditions of education in the field.

“The reorganisation of the system is indeed necessary so that the status and governance of educators become clearer. But the most important thing is to ensure that the transition process runs fairly and does not sacrifice the quality of educational services,” she said.

Currently, Hetifah continued, there are around 1.6 million non-civil servant teachers still referred to as honorary teachers. For years, they have been an important part of maintaining national education, especially in remote areas, 3T regions, and schools that still face shortages of civil servant teachers. Therefore, she warned that without anticipatory steps in the form of large-scale ASN and PPPK recruitment, many schools could face educator shortages.

“Many schools to this day still rely on non-civil servant teachers. If this transition is not prepared well, we are concerned that school operations could be disrupted and ultimately students will be the most affected,” she said.

Hetifah assessed that the issue of teacher distribution remains a major homework for the government. She asked the central and regional governments to immediately conduct a more accurate mapping of teacher needs based on the real conditions of each region.

“We cannot view education issues uniformly. There are regions that relatively have enough teachers, but many areas are very dependent on non-civil servant personnel to keep the teaching and learning process running,” she said.

In addition to pushing for accelerated ASN recruitment, Hetifah also welcomed the part-time PPPK option prepared by the government as a temporary transition scheme related to the honorary teacher issue. According to her, this step can be a solution so that schools do not experience teacher vacancies during the reorganisation process.

“The part-time PPPK scheme can be a temporary solution to maintain the continuity of learning, especially in areas that still lack educators,” she said.

Nevertheless, she emphasised that the government must still have a clear roadmap towards full-time ASN appointments accompanied by welfare guarantees, status certainty, and work protection for honorary teachers. “Do not let it just change the nomenclature without solving the fundamental problems that teachers have faced so far. The state must provide certainty to those who have long served in the world of education,” she added.