Central Govt Pesters Local Administrations to Stipulate Teacher Formation

The Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry is considering the possibility of extending the time for proposing teacher formations through the path of the government employees with work agreements (PPPK).

KOMPAS/ZULKARNAINI

Diana Widayani (36), a at 56 State Elementary School in Banda Aceh City teaching her students, Saturday (11/21/2020)

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry (Kemenpan-RB) is considering the possibility of extending the time for proposing teacher formations (recruitment and deployment of teachers) through the path of the government employees with work agreements (PPPK). The ministry will also "remind" local governments that have not proposed the teacher formations.

This step was taken because the deadline for regional governments to submit the proposals is drawing close, namely Dec. 31, 2020. On the other hand, the formations of PPPK teachers proposed by the local governments are also estimated to be still far from the target of 1 million teachers.

"We will proactively encourage regions to submit the proposals as soon as possible. It seems that we are going to make an attempt to pick up the ball," said the acting executive of deputy duties for human resources at the Kemenpan-RB, Teguh Widjinarko, when contacted on Tuesday (29/12/2020).

Also read: Contract Teachers can Become Civil Servants

Kemenpan-RB data from mid-December 2020 shows that the proposals received from local governments were only for 174,077 formations.

According to Teguh, if the proposals from the regions do not meet the formation target until the deadline, the Kemenpan-RB will consider extending the time for submitting the proposals. Moreover, the Kemenpan-RB will also send letters to the regions that have not submitted their proposed formations, urging them to immediately send their proposals to the ministry.

Also read: Problems of Contract Teachers

The PPPK recruitment primarily provides opportunities for contract teachers in the regions to obtain certainty on improved status and remuneration.

The secretary-general of the Association of Indonesian Regency Governments, Najmul Akhyar, said the local governments in principle wanted as many contract employees as possible to get the PPPK status. Because, in addition to giving awards to the contract employees, the PPPK status also provided more space for local people to devote themselves to teaching.

Also read: Non-Permanent Teachers Still Not Prosperous Despite Decades of Devotion

The reason that many local governments have not yet submitted PPPK teacher formation proposals to the ministry, according to Najmul, is that the PPPK teacher salaries are paid by the regions. Employees with the PPPK status are financed through the regional budget (APBD), in contrast to PNS (civil servants), who are paid through the state budget (APBN).

"If we are still insisting on the use of APBD funds, it might get stuck there, because the regions have to pay for it," said Najmul, who is also the regent of North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

Center-region communications

Indonesian Teachers Association (IGI) chairman M Ramli Rahim said the lack of formation proposals from the regions was caused by the fact that the regional governments did not yet fully understand the mechanism for recruiting 1 million PPPK teachers, especially regarding the budget. "They are probably worried that they will be burdened with the budget in the midst of limited local revenues," he said.

Also read:Education Still Relies on Contract Teachers

KOMPAS/ZULKARNAINI

Agustina, a contract teacher at SD N 70 Banda Aceh is teaching her students. Agustina has been a contract teacher since 2010 and the salary she earns is Rp. 400,000 per month.

The Finance Ministry has disclosed that the Education and Culture Ministry\'s (Kemendikbud) policy in recruiting PPPK teachers will be supported by the state budget. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said the salaries for civil servants or PPPK candidates who pass the selection in 2021 were sent from the state budget through general transfers. (Kompas.id, 24/11/2020).

Also read: Maintaining Teacher Quality

According to Ramli, weak communication could have been overcome if the Education and Culture Ministry had immediately coordinated with regional governments since the formulation of the policy.

According to him, the recruitment of contract teachers through the PPPK selection mechanism is in line with the aim of improving the quality of education workers. If the appointment of honorary teachers is carried out without tests, there is a risk that the quality problem will be difficult to resolve. However, the IGI suggested that the service period of contract teachers be considered as part of the components calculated by the PPPK test score.

The policy of recruiting 1 million PPPK teachers has been received positively by the contract teachers who want to improve their welfare

Contacted separately, the deputy secretary-general of the Indonesian Teachers Union (PGRI), Dudung Abdul Qodir, said that, if there were still obstacles to meeting the formation target, relevant agencies at the central and regional levels must sit together.

"If there are problems or weaknesses in administrative data for the contract teachers, we hope the root of the problem and its solution will be found. The policy of recruiting 1 million PPPK teachers has been received positively by the contract teachers who want to improve their welfare," he said.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.