Indonesia Has No Shortage Of Teachers: Minister

Malang, E. Java (Antara Bali) - Indonesia is not facing shortage of teachers but there is uneven distribution across regions in the country, according to Minister of Education and Culture Muhadjir Effendy.

"I learnt that the problem of shortage of teachers occurs in areas where there is uneven distribution. In some areas, there is excess of teachers, while others are facing a shortage. However, the areas having excess of teachers do not want their numbers to be reduced. Actually, the root cause of the problem is uneven distribution," Muhadjir said here, Sunday evening.

Former rector of the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) stated that matters related to appointment, remuneration, and allowance came under the authority of the central government. However, each region is responsible for the allocation of teachers.

He admitted that although the root cause of the problem had been identified, but a solution had yet to be found.

"We have found the root cause of the problem, and we are still conducting detailed studies to find the solution," he explained.

Meanwhile, during the education and culture minister's visit, Malang Regent Rendra Kresna had spoken of the state of education, especially teachers, in the region.

"The district of Malang is still facing a shortage of teachers, especially at the elementary level. There are only one or two primary school teachers, who are civil servants (PNS)," Rendra stated.

Rendra believes that the shortage of teachers in the area could possibly be overcome by transferring some from the center.

"The shortage may be overcome by distributing teachers currently working in the central region of the country," Rendra suggested.

During an informal meeting held at the Malang Regency Hall, Rendra was accompanied by Head of Department of Education (Kadisdik) Malang Regency Budi Iswoyo, Head of Culture and Tourism (Kadisbudpar) Made Arya Wedhantara, and some expert staff of Malang.

The minister of education and culture was accompanied by Rector of UMM Fauzan and Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business UMM Nazaruddin Malik.

Earlier, the minister of education and culture had also visited Mayor of Malang Moch Anton at his official residence in Jalan Ijen 2 Malang. During the meeting, Muhadjir hoped that teachers of category 2 (K2), temporary teachers (GTT), and temporary employees (PTT) will soon be appointed as civil servants, although it could become very complicated.

"This condition is tricky because GTT and PTT hold Decree Assignment (SK). They are holding the decree of the local government and SK principal. However, until now, there is no legal basis to appoint them as civil servants despite having served for decades, so the government cannot make them civil servants," he explained.(WDY)