Teacher day celebration turns sour as VP gets angry
Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Surakarta
The national celebration of Teacher Day turned sour on Sunday after a poetry-reading that was critical of the poor state of national education irked Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
In his off-the-cuff address, an apparently angry Kalla said teachers were not supposed to be critical of issues affecting the nation, but do their utmost to promote the spirit of achievement.
"Teachers form the nation's soul and character. If you mock the nation, who will respect it? This country needs high spirits to develop," Kalla explained.
His speech, which capped the 60th anniversary celebration of the Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI) at Manahan Stadium here, lasted less than five minutes.
His terse words came after a noted educator, Winarno Surachmad, read some of his own poetry, which was part of the celebration's itinerary.
"What does our respectful job mean if we are sidelined with nobody greeting us or talking to us? When will our school buildings improve their grade from just a chicken coop? Here is buried the remains of a teacher, who died of starvation after living on a salary that runs out in only one day," Winarno, a former rector of Jakarta Teachers Training Institute, recited.
Kalla said he understood that teachers were not paid well enough, but maintained that such an expression of pessimism was unnecessary.
"I know our school buildings are not that luxurious, but I'm convinced they are not like chicken coops. I know your salary is low, but it will not run out in just a day," Kalla said.
"If we all work hard, our economy will improve and everybody will be well-paid."
Prior to his departure back to Jakarta later in the day, Kalla said the poetry was offending.
"I did not like it (the poetry). Is that the way a professor behaves?" Kalla asked, referring to Winarno, who is a professor of education.
Over 30,000 teachers across the country attended the celebration, which was held amid a persistent outcry for improvement in the salaries of around two million teachers nationwide.
A group of teachers from the West Java town of Tasikmalaya and the Central Java towns of Pekalongan and Rembang took to the soccer field of the stadium to protest their low salaries.
One of the protesters, Muhammad Masruf of Rembang, said teachers could not live with on their salaries.
"To develop the country, the government should improve teachers' welfare. A younger teacher should earn at least Rp 1 million (US$1,000) per month," he said.
Another protester, Setiadi, urged the House of Representatives to pass the teacher's bill in a bid to enhance the welfare of the country's teachers.
Alfan Wahid of Probolinggo said some 7,000 teachers in the East Javanese town would go on strike if the bill was not passed by Dec. 6.
The House failed to complete deliberations on the bill last week due to the unsettled debate on teacher's professional allowances. The bill is expected to be passed by Dec. 6, after both the lawmakers and the government agreed that teachers who obtained a government-sanctioned competence certification would receive Rp 1.7 million per month.
Certification will be conducted every year, but restricted to teachers who hold a bachelor's degree or a four-year education diploma.
Following the soccer-field protest, the Surakarta Police detained and questioned Surachmat and Ruhiyat, both from Tasikmalaya. They were released shortly thereafter.