President Prabowo Discusses Teacher Recruitment Reforms
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has stated that the government is currently discussing the possibility of returning the authority for teacher appointments to the central government to improve the national education system.
“Yes, the entire education system must be improved. Starting with teacher recruitment, which is paramount,” said Prabowo during the ‘Presiden Prabowo Menjawab’ programme in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Prabowo explained that while decentralisation is a well-intentioned part of the spirit of democratisation, the execution of teacher recruitment by local governments presents challenges in maintaining objectivity and the quality of educators. He stated that the teacher appointment process needs to be based on competence, school needs, and quality standards, rather than personal connections or political interests.
“If it is left to regency or provincial governments, can we be certain of the quality of teacher recruitment? We must speak of reality. Is a regent objective, or do they appoint their relatives or campaign team members as teachers? This is our dilemma,” said Prabowo.
To address the disparity in educator quality, Prabowo stated that the government could implement courses, training, and capacity-building programmes for teachers to ensure they can keep pace with developments in learning methods and educational technology.
Prabowo also positioned classroom digitalisation as a step to reduce educational quality gaps, helping teachers enhance their teaching abilities and providing students with more engaging learning materials.
“That is why I want to leapfrog. This is a difficulty, which is why I am implementing classroom digitalisation, so that teachers with fewer resources can learn from it, and underprivileged children can be motivated to learn from it,” said Prabowo.
However, Prabowo emphasised that digitalisation cannot replace the role of teachers, as fundamental educational improvements still require quality recruitment and teacher training.
Praberalwo also revealed plans for a ‘crash programme’ involving the recruitment of top university graduates from various disciplines to assist in teaching in the most disadvantaged schools.
“One step I am considering to address this issue is a crash programme; perhaps I will recruit the best graduates from all faculties to become teachers. Let us call them emergency teachers that we deploy to schools,” said Prabowo.
He cited an example where the government could initiate this programme at the primary school level by recruiting approximately 30,000 graduates to be placed in the most lagging schools.
Additionally, Prabowo mentioned that the government could involve Civil Servants (ASN) who are currently working to undergo short-term assignments of two to three weeks in schools according to regional needs.
Prabowo emphasised that improving the quality of education must be accompanied by improvements in teacher welfare. “The important thing is that we must improve teacher welfare, and we have already done much in many areas,” he asserted.
He concluded by stating that the government is discussing the possibility of returning teacher appointment authority to the central government as part of an effort to build a more objective and measurable recruitment system.