Teachers need higher welfare, professionalism

Teachers need higher welfare, professionalism

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While generally agreed that teaching is a noble profession, in
this country it does not pay the bills.

Despite this, Amir Syarifuddin never regrets his decision to
become a teacher.

After 27 years in the profession, the 49-year-old still enjoys
nothing more than standing in front of his students at state
elementary school No. 1 in Kebon Sirih and imparting knowledge.

"It was my father who wanted me to go to Teacher's College ...
becoming a teacher was not my dream job, actually, but now I can
say that I am proud of my profession," he said.

After graduating from a three-year course at the Teacher's
College in 1977, Amir began teaching at a state elementary school
in Lubang Buaya, East Jakarta.

After 27 years of teaching, the Jakarta native earns Rp 2.45
million (about US$245) a month, enough to cover the daily
expenditures for himself and his two children.

"With my salary, I am never able to save any money. Sometimes
I have to borrow money from the bank or from the school's
cooperative, when I need large amounts of money to pay the school
fees for my children," he said, adding that he had to borrow at
least Rp 5 million every six months to pay for his children's
education.

His eldest child is in university and the youngest is in high
school.

Although money has always been tight, Amir willingly dipped
into his own pocket to upgrade the diploma he received from the
Teacher's College, which was the equivalent of a high school
degree.

In the early 1990s, Amir enrolled in a two-year teacher's
training program at Muhammadiyah University in Jakarta at his own
expense.

He still harbors the dream of taking an extension program to
obtain an undergraduate degree.

"This country is developing ... all elementary school teachers
should at least hold a university degree," he said.

He expressed hope the government would someday provide
scholarships for teachers who graduated from Teacher's College
and who had been teaching for more than 10 years.

"We are often blamed for not being professional. But no one
pays any thought to how to improve our professionalism," said
Amir, who lives in Bekasi municipality.

"The government needs to provide us scholarships because it is
unlikely we would be able to afford the tuition from our
salaries," he said.

Engking Rusakim, a principal at an elementary school in
Central Jakarta, shared Amir's opinion, saying higher education
was the key to improving the knowledge and teaching skills of
teachers.

"The knowledge obtained by graduates of a Teacher's College in
the 1970s, for example, is no longer suitable for current
conditions.

"As an illustration, back then, a classroom would immediately
quiet down if a teacher slapped the table to stop the students
from talking. But now, even at elementary schools, students
ignore such warning," said the 53-year-old principal.

But he added that a formal university education was not the
only way to improve the working skills and knowledge of teachers.

"They can read books and articles provided by the government
about teaching and learning methods," he said.

Engking, who has been an educator for 33 years, said it would
be impossible to elevate the professionalism of teachers without
also improving their welfare.

"There are lots of teachers who have good qualifications, but
they fail to perform because they are skipping classes to do side
jobs to make enough money to keep their own children in school,"
he said.