PPPK Teachers in Banten Complain About Planned Allowance Cuts
A number of contract-based teachers (Pegawai Pemerintah dengan Perjanjian Kerja, PPPK) in Banten Province have complained about a planned reduction in performance-based income allowances (Tambahan Penghasilan Pegawai, TPP), reportedly reaching 40 per cent from previous levels. The information circulated through a draft on this year’s performance allowance disbursement.
A PPPK teacher at a state secondary school in Tangerang City, identified as Amir, revealed that since his appointment as a PPPK teacher in August 2025, he has never received TPP. “Now suddenly there is news that this year we will receive TPP of Rp 350,000, and honestly it is very disappointing for us PPPK teachers from the 2025 cohort,” Amir told Tempo on Sunday, 1 March 2026.
Another PPPK teacher, identified as Budi, stated that previously PPPK cohorts from 2021 to 2024 received TPP of Rp 2.5 million per month. However, in the latest draft, that amount is reported to have fallen to Rp 1.5 million. Meanwhile, the 2025 PPPK cohort is only listed as receiving Rp 350,000 per month. “This is just a draft, but if we stay silent and don’t speak up, there’s a possibility it could be implemented,” Budi said when contacted on Thursday, 26 February 2026.
He suspected the TPP cuts were related to the free nutritious meal programme.
Previously, secondary and vocational school teachers under the Banten Provincial Government, according to Budi, received three income components: base salary, additional allowances for duties such as homeroom teachers or deputy school principals, and TPP. However, these additional allowances were unilaterally eliminated since 2024 on the grounds that such duties are inherent to teaching functions. “Without consultation, they just suddenly disappeared,” he said.
He described a similar pattern occurring with the planned TPP cuts this year. Teachers learned of the information from screenshots of the TPP beneficiary list circulating in messaging groups. After confirming with the local education office, he said, the draft was confirmed to be genuine.
Budi stated that to date there has been no new gubernatorial regulation (Pergub) establishing the legal basis for changing TPP amounts. Yet, according to him, TPP payments should be based on a Pergub.
With a base salary of around Rp 3.2 million and previous TPP of Rp 2.5 million, plus other allowances attached to his base salary, he said his total monthly income was approximately Rp 6.4 million. After the cuts, his income is estimated to fall by around Rp 1 million. “In South Tangerang, with current living costs, that is very noticeable,” he said.
He also highlighted the difference in policy between PPPK and civil servants (PNS). According to him, the cuts only apply to PPPK, whilst civil servants are unaffected. This situation, he said, sparked jealousy within the school environment.
Regarding future steps, Budi said PPPK teachers plan to request an audience with the education office to clarify the authenticity of the draft. However, he acknowledged concern about speaking openly because PPPK status is contract-based.
Criticism also came from the Teachers Indonesia Education Monitoring Network. Its National Coordinator Ubaid Matraji called the policy a betrayal of the teaching profession. “Cutting teachers’ rights when they have already served is not merely efficiency, but an insult,” Ubaid said when contacted on Monday, 2 March 2026.
According to Ubaid, this plan cannot be separated from the free nutritious meal (MBG) policy, which is now the government’s main focus. He accused the education budget of becoming a “sacrificial lamb” to finance the programme. “This is a concrete form of teachers becoming victims because the education budget is consumed by MBG. Feeding students lunch but making teachers suffer is flawed development logic. That is a suicide scenario for education,” he said.
The Monitoring Network urged the Banten Provincial Government to transparently disclose its budget structure and local spending priorities. Ubaid believed that the classical reason of budget limitations could not be used as justification. “Banten is a buffer region to the capital with considerable local revenue. Don’t make PPPK teachers the victims of the local government’s inability to manage priorities,” he said.
Ubaid also warned of the long-term impact of this policy on education quality. According to him, TPP cuts could trigger mass demotivation among teachers. Classrooms would lose teacher dedication and ultimately impact student quality.
Tempo attempted to contact the Head of Banten Province’s Education Office, Jamaluddin. However, as of Monday, 2 March 2026, Jamaluddin had not responded.
In a separate statement, the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Head Dadan Hindayana denied that the MBG programme reduced education spending, although the MBG programme does fall within the education sector function. Dadan said the total budget for education functions reached Rp 223 trillion.
However, he stressed that this budget did not reduce the allocation of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education or the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. “It does not affect it because education ministry spending also increased from the previous year,” he said at a press conference in Bogor on Saturday, 28 February 2026.
Additionally, BGN stated that central government transfers to regions for teacher allowances continued to increase. “From last year to this year it increased by almost 10 per cent,” said Dadan.