Parliament urges government to gradually appoint honorary teachers as civil servants

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), Cucun Ahmad Syamsurijal, has urged the government to appoint honorary teachers as civil servants on a gradual basis, as Indonesia is currently facing a teacher emergency phenomenon.

Cucun stated that local governments are now facing difficulties in appointing school principals, who must hold civil servant (ASN) status, due to their dwindling numbers resulting from many retirements.

“The DPR wants the government, if it is strong enough, to gradually appoint them (honorary teachers) as ASNs so that their status is clear for these educators in our country,” Cucun said at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He explained that many school principals are currently holding positions in two or three schools because honorary teachers, whether PPPK or part-time, cannot serve as principals.

Therefore, according to him, the government must conduct detailed data collection on all teachers across regions, including the outermost areas.

In this way, the government can also calculate the budget strength to appoint teachers as civil servants.

According to him, every year the DPR RI receives aspirations from teachers. For a long time, the issue with teachers has been the lack of accurate data that accommodates them.

As a result, said Cucun, teachers experience delays in certification and are not included in the data for incentive recipients.

He has also emphasised that the government must not ignore the rights of these honorary teachers, especially now that local government budgets are not strong.

“We do not want that to happen, whether teachers in the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology or those in the Ministry of Religious Affairs; if we propose it, because now there is a teacher emergency, appoint them as ASNs, as civil servants,” he said.