The fate of teachers

The fate of teachers

From Kompas

In mid June, 1994, a teacher from a remote spot in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, unexpectedly visited me in Surabaya. He was my teacher when I was a pupil at his school. He wanted me to accompany him to the Agency for Civil Service Administration (BAKN).

His problem was that he and his staff had not been promoted despite the fact that the proposal had been forwarded more than one year ago. But after BAKN closely examined the problem, they concluded that they had not received the documents from the provincial office of the Department of Education and Culture in East Nusa Tenggara. What nonsense!

We asked the BAKN official concerned to help these poor teachers. I wondered why they did not appreciate the dedication of these remote area teachers. They talk about the enhancement of the quality of human resources. Don't they think that even Minister of Science and Technology Habibie could not be as he is now without teachers teaching him during his school days.

Believe it or not, in Flores there is a teacher who has been teaching for years on an honorary basis. He is paid only Rp 10,000 (about US$5) for three months' work because his letter of appointment as a civil servant has not been realized.

ANDRE ELWE

Surabaya, East Java