Teachers deserve fair compensation for the difficult work they do

Ardimas Sasdi, Jakarta

One of the mistakes the nation has made in the course of 60 years, and now has to pay for dearly, is that it has neglected educators, the people who bestow knowledge on our children and the skills needed to live in a highly competitive age and democracy.

Tragically, the nation continues to make the same mistakes over and over.

The tragedy occurred because the focus of development in education has been on physical aspects like the construction of school buildings, colleges and universities, which is good in order to provide education for all. But the country has done very little to improve the standards and quality of the education system, the training and welfare of teachers.

The best the government did was to open teachers' schools and colleges, adopt new testing systems and overhaul the curriculum -- now Indonesia has had six in all, including the 2004 competency-based curriculum.

The effect has been disastrous -- Indonesia is lagging behind the neighboring countries that invested aggressively in education. Some might be vexed by this example, but like it or not, Malaysia, which sent its students to study at our universities in the 1970s, is overtaking us.

For countries like Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan -- who have become Asian economic tigers -- education is a top priority. Their people and governments have a common view on the vital role of education for the country's development.

This common goal is reflected in an unflinching commitment to improve the education system, including better training, welfare and respect for teachers. The salaries of teachers in the these countries are quite high, so that they can buy houses, cars and send their children to good schools. In Indonesia, teachers are paid between Rp 600,000 (US$ 60) and Rp 1.8 million a month -- an amount not sufficient to live on.

With a budgetary outlay of around 7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) per year on average in the past few decades -- the lowest among Asian countries that earmarked over 20 percent -- plus the widespread corruption, there was little Indonesia could do to improve its education system and teachers' welfare.

The impacts are many and far-reaching.

Many of our teachers are not qualified due to substandard training, although we have a large pool of teachers. Ministry of National Education reports show that a large chunk of around two million primary and secondary school teachers are not competent in their jobs.

"This fact is already public knowledge, but we cannot do much to rectify the situation as the problem is beyond the capacity of an individual or a group to solve," a professor lamented.

For teachers and lecturers the condition is indeed no less difficult. Reactions have differed, depending on their conditions. Some resigned to their fate, but others took side jobs, including jobs with no fixed income, like riding an ojek (motorcycle taxi) or opening small shops in their houses to supplement their meager salaries.

Talented teachers, especially notable scholars, moonlight as lecturers, consultants and advisors for government agencies, private companies and multi-national firms -- of course at the expense of ignorant students. But the moonlighting problem is like the chicken-and-the-egg theory. On one side the public expect teachers to work and act like professionals in order to get higher income and respect, while on the other side, teachers say it is useless to talk about commitment if they cannot feed their families.

The low financial rewards and respect also make teaching jobs unattractive to the best and brightest talents, resulting in these positions being filled by people who lack competence or "reluctant graduates", who became teachers because they could not get higher paying jobs.

An urban planner taught at a private university in Padang, West Sumatra assuming that he had contributed to the development of knowledge, but quit in his third year due to the meager salary. "The small salary is an insult to the intelligence," said the engineer.

Despite their meager salaries and lack of respect, teachers, who are responsible for teaching our children knowledge and life skills, are used as scapegoats by the government and the public over the maladies in the education system, such as poor examination results, juvenile delinquency, drug addition and other social ills.

That is why the long-awaited bill on teachers now being deliberated by the House of Representatives, despite some loopholes in it, should be warmly greeted like a light at the end of a tunnel. The bill, complementary to the Constitution requiring the state to set aside 20 percent of the budget for education, will give stronger legal recognition to the teaching profession, forcing the government to raise the salaries of teachers in a small step toward the overhaul of our education system.

Why?

It is nonsense to talk about changes in education if the budget is small and the fate of teachers is neglected. High-rise buildings, modern curriculums and bright students are important, but these will not mean much without good teachers, whose positions as transferrers of knowledge are irreplaceable.

Teaching is unquestionably a high-calling profession, but teachers are just human beings. Proper education and training would make them experts in their fields, and a decent income would allow them to concentrate on their jobs and regain self- respect.

Teachers's Day on Nov. 29 is the right momentum for the nation to give teachers their long-delayed right -- a decent income and respect. Teachers need the 'materials' to do their jobs, although they may not ask for medals, as the popular saying goes, pahlawan tanpa tanda jasa they are our (unsung heroes).

The author is a staff writer of the Jakarta Post and a lecturer at the Department of Communication of the University of Indonesia. He can be reached at ardi05@thejakartapost.com.