Threat of Teacher Shortage Looms, Lestari Moerdijat Calls for Comprehensive Measures

The challenge of ensuring the availability of quality and evenly distributed teachers demands immediate and comprehensive action from stakeholders across the country. ‘The issue of teacher availability is not merely an administrative problem. More than that, the shortage of teachers in a number of regions could impact the uncertainty of the nation’s future. A number of concrete steps must be taken immediately to address this challenge,’ said Deputy Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Lestari Moerdijat in a written statement on Tuesday (30/6).

Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Fajar Riza Ul Haq recently revealed at an event in Lampung that Indonesia is currently experiencing a shortage of more than 561,000 teachers. This figure is estimated to increase to around 900,000 teachers by 2030 as many teachers and head teachers enter retirement. Meeting the need for teachers in Indonesia remains a task that must be addressed.

According to Lestari, an integrated and long-term plan for teacher requirements must be realised immediately. Rerie, as she is familiarly known, argued that the government must be able to develop a serious national-scale roadmap for teacher needs, covering the distribution of educators, a fair recruitment system, professional protection, and decent welfare. The grand design being prepared by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, said Rerie, who is also a member of Commission X of the House of Representatives, must encompass all stages from the education of prospective teachers to continuous competency development.

Furthermore, the senior politician from the NasDem Party added that a national redistribution of teachers must also be carried out immediately to achieve equity for regions experiencing shortages. According to Rerie, the support of all related parties to realise equitable teacher availability across the country is crucial for building a better future for the nation. ‘A great nation cannot be built by neglecting its teachers. It is in the hands of teachers that a competitive generation capable of determining the direction of Indonesia’s future is expected to be born,’ concluded Rerie.