Hence, actually, this National Education System Bill is good news for all teachersJakarta (ANTARA) - Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim stated that the National Education System Bill was the answer to the complaints or concerns of several teachers.
“Hence, actually, this National Education System Bill is good news for all teachers. I really want to meet all the teachers, talk in person, and explain how immense the potential of the National Education System Bill is to improve the welfare of teachers," he noted in a written statement on Monday.
Minister Makarim drew attention to several breakthroughs regarding teachers' welfare in the National Education System Bill, as it firstly ensured that teachers receiving professional allowances would continue to get them until retirement.
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Currently, some 1.3 million teachers had received professional allowances. He emphasized that these teachers were guaranteed to continue to receive the professional allowances that had been given until retirement. This was regulated in Article 145, paragraph (1) of the National Education System Bill.
“Explicitly, this is already guaranteed. There is a transitional provision that replaces the revoked law. Hence, it is all good," he remarked.
On the other hand, around 1.6 million teachers had yet to be certified, so they had not received the professional allowance.
"If the National Education System Bill is passed, then they will be able to immediately receive the allowance without having to wait for the certification process and take part in the PPG (teacher professional education) program, for which there is a long queue," he remarked.
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The second benefit garnered through the National Education System Bill was recognition as a teacher for educators in early childhood education, education packages, and formal Islamic boarding schools.
Head of the Educational Standards, Curriculum and Assessment Agency, Anindito Aditomo, remarked that in the current system, there is a merger between the certification process and the provision of teacher income allowances.
Certification that aimed to improve quality was a requirement for the disbursement of benefits focused on welfare. Aditomo opined that the order was not supposed to be like that. Teachers' welfare should be guaranteed first before they had to improve quality.
"If people work and carry out their duties as teachers, then they should get a decent income," he remarked.
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Translator: Indriani, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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