Soldiers teach in Irian Jaya schools

Soldiers teach in Irian Jaya schools

JAKARTA (JP): Members of the Armed Forces (ABRI) serving in
Irian Jaya have been called up to teach at rural elementary
schools due to a severe shortage of teachers.

The recruitment was based on an instruction from the Trikora
Military Command chief, according to Ismu Handono, the acting
head of Irian Jaya's Ministry of Education and Culture office.

"They will get their honorarium soon this year," Ismu said on
Saturday.

For the 1997/1998 fiscal year, the country's easternmost
province needs 9,343 elementary school teachers and 1,572 senior
high school teachers. But there is difficulty in recruiting
teachers willing to be assigned to remote outlying areas, Ismu
said.

"The situation worsened as many teachers abandoned their
duties because they could not stand the loneliness," Antara
quoted him as saying.

Irian Jaya is about four times the size of Java but its
population is only 1,648,708 people.

The province has 2,257 elementary schools, 99 senior high
schools and 23 vocational high schools.

Ismu said his office would provide additional incentives for
the soldiers beginning this year. "I hope these incentives will
encourage them in this additional assignment."

In the last four years, the government has given special
incentives to civil servants working in remote areas of the
country, including Irian Jaya, such as additional payments which
are sometimes double their salary.

The government prioritized the hiring of local people to teach
in their own village after they completed the two-year education
training course at the Teacher's Training Institute. This policy
has been unable to meet the growing demand for teachers. (06)