Teacher set up federation
Teacher set up federation
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Disappointed by the poor performance of the Association of
Indonesian Teachers (PGRI), which many consider to have acted as
little more than a collector of levies during the new order
regime, a group of teachers announced on Thursday the
establishment of the Federation of Independent Indonesian
Teachers (FGII).
The federation was established by nearly 100 teachers
representing 25 teachers' organizations from Jakarta, Bandung,
Garut and Tasikmalaya, during a modest ceremony at the Proklamasi
Monument in Menteng, Central Jakarta (photo above).
The ceremony started with speeches by representatives of the
teachers, followed by the formal declaration establishing the
federation, and ended with the singing of the teachers' hymn.
In its declaration, the FGII demanded that democracy and
transparency be applied in education. They urged the government
to give legal protection to teachers and also to provide greater
funding for education, amounting to at least 30 percent of the
state budget. They further demanded that intervention by the
bureaucracy in teachers' organizations be stopped.
During the ceremony, the teachers, who work in various types
of school ranging from kindergartens and elementary schools up to
junior and senior high schools, did not wear their official
Korpri (Indonesian Civil Service Corps) uniforms, but rather T-
shirts and casual clothes.
They claimed that the federation was necessary as the PGRI
could no longer accommodate their aspirations. The PGRI was
considered to be powerless in protesting against the misery
experienced by teachers, mainly as the result of low salaries.
"As we know, the right to organize is guaranteed by the law.
There is nothing wrong with the establishment of our own
federation in order to advance the struggle for our aspirations,"
Amir Hamzah, a teacher from the state-run SMUN senior high school
said.
After the declaration, the teachers marched to the House of
Representatives' building and the Ministry of National Education
to press for their demands to be met. -- JP