Teacher bill passed, problems remain

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.