Teacher bill passed, problems remain
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
With little fanfare, the House of Representatives unanimously agreed on Tuesday to pass the bill on teachers and lecturers, which aims to improve the educators' welfare.
Reception of the endorsement was generally subdued across the country, in spite of the fact that the bill requires the government to remunerate teachers and lecturers at state schools and universities at a level that is above the minimum cost of living.
Instead of celebrating the bill's approval, hundreds of teachers in East Lombok regency, West Nusa Tenggara went on strike on Tuesday to protest the local administration's policy to cut their monthly salary by 2.5 percent for alms, Antara reported.
The strike took place while students were taking their exams, forcing Governor Lalu Serinata to step in.
"Whatever the reason, the strike is deplorable because it is the students who suffer," Serinata said during his visit to Kupang in the neighboring province of East Nusa Tenggara
Serinata also ordered East Lampung Regent Muhammad Ali bin Dachlan to stop the alms collection, which according to the teachers was by force.
Desperately seeking better pay, nearly 800 contractual teachers assembled at the education agency office in Kotabaru, South Kalimantan to register themselves for civil servant recruitment tests next year.
Spokesman for the Kotabaru Education Agency Hartono said the local administration was in need of hundreds of teachers who would be placed in state schools across the regency.
The contractual teachers receive Rp 550,000 (US$55) per month, plus Rp 90,000 in incentives.
The government said newly recruited civil servants, including state teachers and lecturers, would receive at least Rp 1 million in take-home pay starting next year.
Under the bill on teachers and lecturers, the government is required to improve conditions for these professionals.
Full-time teachers and lecturers will be entitled to receive a couple of additional monthly allowances, including a professional allowance, as well as educational benefits for their children.
Private education institutes are exempted from the consequences of the bill's passage, but are called to adjust to the legislation once it comes into effect.
"Those who work at private schools and universities are entitled to equal appreciation and rewards received by their counterparts working for the state," Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Dedy Sutomo said after the House plenary session to endorse the bill.
He said the bill, which was initiated by the House, was aimed at restoring the pride of teachers, whether they worked for state or private institutions.
"Recognition of the teaching profession would put an end to the perception of teachers as altruistic heroes," said Dedy, who is an actor.
He said the quality of teachers here lagged behind others in the region, partly because teachers and lecturers did not feel secure in terms of welfare.
Lawmakers agree that efforts to improve the quality and quantity of teachers and lecturers will fail if the government does not allocate 20 percent of the state budget to the education sector in line with the Constitution.