Jakarta — The government’s commitment to improving the quality of national education has again been demonstrated through a strategic policy in the form of allowances for honorary teachers. This policy is considered a breath of fresh air for the world of education, especially for non-ASN educators who have not been fully touched by social assistance.
The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education (Mendikdasmen), Abdul Mu’ti, explained that the government is preparing a direct cash assistance scheme for honorary teachers throughout Indonesia. This step aims to improve welfare while providing great motivation to educators, especially in the regions.
“God willing, there will be a direct transfer program for honorary teachers, each teacher will receive IDR 300 thousand per month,” said Abdul Mu’ti.
Not only that, honorary teachers who have not completed their undergraduate (S1) or diploma four (D4) education will also receive support for educational costs.
“Assistance for teachers who have not completed D4 or S1 is Rp3 million per semester. The President will announce the figure at the launch in Bogor. God willing, on Friday, May 2nd afternoon, during National Education Day,” he added.
This policy is considered a real step in responding to the challenges of honorary teacher welfare, which has been a crucial issue in the national education system. With a direct approach in the form of transferring funds to each teacher’s account, the government is trying to ensure that assistance is received quickly and on target.
The Head of the East Java Provincial Education Office, Aries Agung Paewai, welcomed this central government initiative. According to him, the honorary teacher allowance will strengthen the spirit of non-PNS educators in carrying out their duties to educate the nation’s generation.
“The Honorary Teacher Allowance is a breath of fresh air for teachers who have not received social assistance, while strengthening their role in educating the nation’s generation,” said Aries.
Although the technical details of this program are still awaiting an official announcement from the President, Aries considers the government’s plan to make direct transfers to each teacher’s account to be the right and efficient approach.
“Referring to the statement of the Minister of Education, this assistance is planned to be transferred directly to each teacher’s account. The East Java Provincial Government itself has also implemented a similar distribution scheme,” he explained.
This kind of scheme is considered to be able to minimize the potential for irregularities while providing certainty to teachers that their rights are received without intermediaries that slow down the process.
Honorary teachers have been an important part of the national education system, especially in remote and isolated areas. However, less than ideal working conditions and low welfare are often obstacles for them in developing their potential and teaching quality.
With the presence of this allowance policy, it is hoped that the gap between ASN and non-ASN teachers can be further narrowed. The government also gave a strong signal that strengthening the role of honorary teachers is part of the priority of human resource development.
Education observer, Nurhayati Ismail from the Nusantara Educators Forum, said that this program will provide new hope for honorary teachers. According to him, the main challenge going forward is ensuring the sustainability of the program and monitoring its implementation
“We hope that this will not only be a symbolic policy, but will also continue to be improved in terms of quality and quantity. Teachers are the spearhead of the nation’s education,” he said.
This strategic step is also a reflection of the spirit of National Education Day (Hardiknas) which fell on May 2. With the official launch scheduled to take place in Bogor, the government wants to emphasize that quality education can only be achieved if educators are in a prosperous and motivated condition.
Through the honorary teacher allowance policy, the government shows that educational transformation does not only touch the curriculum or infrastructure, but also directly touches the lives of the main actors in the education sector.-
[edRW]
