JAKARTA: Indonesia’s new president Prabowo Subianto will allocate a record 82.6 trillion rupiah (US$5.21 billion) from the state budget to the education sector next year, with a 100 per cent salary increase for public school teachers.
The pledge comes on the back of announcements of recent salary hikes for other professions, including farmers and judges, initiated by Mr Prabowo in his first month of leadership.
“My Cabinet and I have decided to place education as the top priority in our state budget, so much that the allocation for education in the 2025 budget will be the biggest in the country’s history,” Mr Prabowo said during a National Teachers’ Day celebration in East Jakarta on Thursday (Nov 28), as quoted by the Jakarta Post.
“Despite being in office for only a month, we are pleased to announce improvements in teachers’ welfare,” he said, visibly emotional, noting that teachers played an important role in a good national education system.
Starting in 2025, teachers in Indonesia employed by the state will receive a 100 per cent increase in their basic nominal salaries while privately employed teachers, mostly part-time educators, will receive a monthly allowance of 2 million rupiah in addition to their base salary.
According to online employment websites, Jobstreet and Indeed, teachers in Indonesia are paid around 3.75 million rupiah to 5.5 million rupiah per month.
The salary adjustment for teachers will require an additional 16.7 trillion rupiah, bringing the total budget for education to 81.6 trillion rupiah next year.
“We acknowledge the challenges and shortcomings that persist but we are determined, committed and we recognise that education is what we must improve,” Mr Prabowo added in his speech on Thursday, emphasising that education is key to overcoming poverty.
“We are determined to improve the quality of life for all Indonesians, whether they are teachers, workers, farmers, or fishermen. Everyone deserves a better future,” he said.
“Relating to our commitment to improving the welfare and quality of teachers, the PPG (certification) programme will be implemented for 806,486 state and non-state school teachers who have met the necessary educational qualifications,” Mr Prabowo was quoted as saying on Nov 28 by Kompas.
For part-time teachers to qualify for the new monthly allowance, they must first complete the government’s teaching certification programme known as the Teaching Profession Education (PPG), as clarified by Primary and Secondary Education Minister Abdul Mu’ti, cited in local media.
The Jakarta Globe also reported that Indonesia currently has 1.93 million certified teachers, representing 64.4 per cent of the nation’s teaching workforce and many schools, especially in rural areas, that face manpower shortages. These schools often rely on part-time teachers who suffer from a lack of job security.
The Primary and Secondary Education Ministry is preparing for more than 800,000 teachers to participate and pass the PPG certification in 2025, to improve the number of certified teachers and the quality of teachers in the country.
Last month, on Oct 23, Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman announced efforts to attract millennial farmers by offering a minimum salary of 10 million rupiah – nearly five times the average agricultural worker’s wage – in a food self-sufficiency drive.
And in early October, Mr Prabowo promised improvements to the pay and benefits of judges in a bid to curb corruption in the country, amid a nationwide strike pushing for higher wages.
