Teachers face challenges in restive provinces
JAKARTA (JP): Being caught in the middle of violence and facing death are sometimes the hazards of teaching in troubled areas of Aceh and East Timor. The lesser hardships of working with severely limited facilities and poor wages are also the tribulations of being a teacher in these provinces.
Two teachers known as pamong belajar -- which are teachers who are not posted in the one school but travel to various places where their expertise is needed -- from the two provinces recounted their experiences during a meeting with a group of model teachers from the 27 provinces. The gathering was an annual event to commemorate Aug. 17 Independence Day. Earlier on Friday they met with President B.J. Habibie at Merdeka Palace.
Bustami has been posted around the volatile North Aceh regency, where there has been a sharp resurgence of armed conflicts between separatist guerrillas and the military. He spoke of his experiences teaching in local schools. At least 140 school buildings have either been damaged or burned, and tens of thousands of children have had to go without schooling in several refugee centers.
The native Acehnese described how difficult it was for him to "motivate" students to join his programs when unrest continued, and said the people felt so defenseless they could not speak about their pain.
"Many Acehnese children don't think they need education as long as they can make money," he said.
He spoke of the absence of transportation for him and other teachers to reach the wooded and mountainous hinterland of Aceh. "Sometimes I have to travel for days, hitching a ride on any available means of transportation, in order to reach the children in the isolated areas," he said.
"Sometimes I can't find public transportation to take me back home."
Another pamong, Siti Saleha, has been posted in Dili, the capital of East Timor, where tension has been increasing ahead of the self-determination vote planned for Aug. 30.
The migrant from Java said she often felt "squeezed" because intimidation against migrants like her came from both the proindependence and prointegration camps. "Fear often hampers my teaching activities," she said.
"We are aware of the risks (of working in East Timor) and are trying to cope with the challenges facing us because we have work to do and because it's our responsibility."
Just like Bustami, Saleha has also had to make long trips to reach children in several villages and camps. "Very often we have to go to the children", as the children cannot reach the schools, she said.
She recounted that some colleagues had frequently been caught in violence, faced intimidation from locals, and even parents, if they failed the children.
Minister of Education Juwono Sudarsono acknowledged that a great number of teachers abandoned their posts in East Timor out of fear of intimidation from the warring parties. "I appreciate those who stay. They would be rewarded," Juwono promised.
A total of 54 model teachers and school principals and 27 study group leaders (pamong belajar) met with Habibie. (06)