Teachers’ day: Questioning role of teachers in Indonesia
Indonesia is today celebrating the 71st
year since teachers’ day was launched in 1945. Teaching, which used to be
depicted as Oemar Bakrie (an underpaid profession), is now becoming more
popular thanks to Law No. 14/2005 on teachers and lecturers.
Moreover, the government through the
Education and Culture Ministry regulates teacher certification, which has
increased the salaries of certified teachers. As an illustration, a level III
civil servant teacher who has a basic salary of Rp 2.9 million (US$214)
receives a certification salary of up to Rp 2.7, almost doubling their
take-home pay. Teachers also receive another salary such as a regional
allowance in some regions, including Jakarta.
Of course, this is good news for the
2,294,191 certified teachers compared to teachers’ uncertain fate in the past,
when some worked part time due to insufficient salaries.
The teacher certification policy is
intended to increase national education performance; however, after almost 10
years of implementation, the results are not straightforward. Many studies such
as one conducted by the World Bank in 2014 have concluded that teacher
certification has not increased teacher competency or learning outcomes.
Every year, certified teachers are
evaluated through a competence evaluation. The results of last year’s
evaluation were pathetic. Of more than 2 million certified teachers, only 192
achieved a score of 90 in pedagogical tests, and most scored below 56.
Looking at this reality, teachers should
not play the blame game by citing the poor quality of certification programs or
bad programs at university. As part of change agents, teachers should play
active roles in developing their competencies, not only relying on the government’s
program.
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