Teachers demand promised incentive

TANGERANG: At least 8,000 volunteer teachers in Tangerang, Banten, are demanding the regental administration make good on its pledge to pay incentives of Rp 50,000 per month.

Rohanah, who is a teacher's aide at a state elementary school in Kohod village, Pakuhaji district, said she and other teachers had received the promised incentive only once since starting their teaching jobs early last year.

She said the regental administration promised them Rp 460,000 in monthly salary and Rp 50,000 monthly as an incentive that would be paid every three months.

"Each of us only received Rp 150,000 through the regency education agency office in September 2004 and never again," she said on Saturday, adding that each teacher should have received Rp 600,000 after one year of teaching.

She said the Rp 150,000 she received in September 2004 was incentive payments for July, August and September and the administration had not paid them for nine the other months of 2004 nor for January, February and March this year.

Tana Johana, another teacher in Pondok Ranji, Ciputat, said she only received Rp 150,000 in September for three months of incentives last September.

Muhyi Sariffudin, head of the regency education agency, conceded that the administration had promised the monthly incentive to volunteer school teachers.

"But the administration no longer has the budget to pay the promised monthly incentive this year," he said. --JP