Teachers are lacking

I am very much concerned with the demand for a salary increase by teachers lately. With the current economic situation in Indonesia the teachers are definitely experiencing the same economic difficulties as we are.

Should the current situation drag on for a long time, Indonesia's education will face a greater problem. The education system sill needs improving in many aspects. One of the problems is that the number of teachers in Indonesia is limited. For example, when the government closed the Teacher Training School (SPG) in West Java, we lost 5,000 teachers. This is not to mention the number of teachers lost in eastern parts of Indonesia.

It was said recently that the country was short of 20,000 teachers, which causes a serious problem for Indonesia. I hope the government will listen to and meet the teachers' demand for the sake of our younger generation.

SYLVIE GILL

Nusa Dua, Bali