Teachers demand budget hike

SEMARANG: About 50 teachers who claimed to represent 250,000 members of the Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI) rallied at the provincial legislature on Friday to demand a rise in the state budget allocated for education.

"We want the government to allocate at least 25 percent of the state budget for national education and to implement regional autonomy on educational matters," Sudharto, who chairs PGRI's Central Java chapter, said.

The group also demanded a law dealing with teachers careers, salaries and other necessities.

In their response, provincial councillors promised to channel the demands to the local and central governments. (har/edt)