Protesters critical of UGM salary increase
Protesters critical of UGM salary increase
The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta, Surabaya
More than 500 lecturers, employees and students of Yogyakarta's
Gadjah Mada University (UGM) staged a protest on Monday against
pay increases decided upon by the rector.
The new salary policy, for instance, raised the salary of a
professor by between Rp 270,000 and Rp 900,000 each, while the
university's rector and deans enjoyed a 400 percent rise,
becoming Rp 25 million and Rp 15 million respectively.
"The salary increase was the trigger of our protest. There's
many problems here at UGM and things just exploded at the same
time as the new policy (was introduced)," said Arie Soedjito, a
lecturer and coordinator of the protest.
The lecturer at UGM's School of Social and Political Sciences
claims that ever since the university became a state-owned legal
entity (BHMN), it has experienced education disorientation.
Ethically, he said, UGM should be responsible for developing
knowledge. "But what's happen is the other way around. UGM has
experienced disorientation and fallen into education capitalism,"
Arie said.
Monday's protest, he said, is just the beginning. Lecturers
and relevant elements in the university will reanalyze whether
BHMN's implementation meets true education goals.
"If the rector doesn't respond to this we might stop teaching,
but first the rector must cancel the salary increase because it's
unfair and needs to be tested publicly," Arie said.
The head of UGM's population study, Muhammad Maksum, said the
problem was not the amount of the raises, but whether the policy
would benefit and develop UGM, which claims to be a research
university.
"A professor only gets Rp 15,000 per hour while conducting
research. It would be better to use the money (for salary
increases) to develop the sciences. Not that we don't need a
salary, but raising lecturers' and rectors' salaries by up to Rp
25 million needs to be publicly tested. The plan should be
canceled," Muhammad said.
A senior lecturer, Heru Nugroho, said the money to be used for
the pay increases should instead be used to fund student
activities.
The protesters also observed National Education Day by wearing
black armbands to show their concern over the death of solidarity
at the university.
They also distributed pamphlets and banners, including one
reading: "the people's campus now only memory" and another
changing the meaning of BHMN into "boss only thinks of his own
salary".
UGM rector Sofian met the protesters briefly before leaving
the scene. "I do not sympathize with their action. If they want
to find an alternative solution, let us sit down and talk. This
is not the way to go about it," Sofian said.
He said the salary increases were aimed at creating a
transparent payment system. Previously, a rector was paid Rp 6
million, but with allowances and other things, the take home pay
may have reached Rp 30 million, he said.
"What the rector receives now is less. Back then, it was not
transparent," Sofian said.
In Surabaya, a protest marked National Education Day, with
protesting university students and members of the community
demanding the government improve the country's education system.
The protesters also demanded the government allocate 20
percent of the state budget for education as well as improve
teachers' welfare.