Honorary Teacher In Bogor Who Was Fired For Reporting Extortion Should Even Be Awarded

Photo by Muhammad Daudy on Unsplash

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, highlighted the fate of honorary teachers who were fired unilaterally by school principals after reporting illegal levies (Pungli) in her place of teaching. Puan assessed that the courage of the young teacher needs to be appreciated considering that extortion in the school environment is very detrimental to the community.

"What the honorary teacher in Bogor City did was a bold step. This courage must be given appreciation, especially through increasing the status of the teacher," said Puan, Friday, September 15.

As is known, a young honorary teacher named Mohamad Reza Ernanda who taught at SD Negeri Cibeureum 1 Bogor City was fired after reporting allegations of extortion at the school. The dismissal was rejected by students and parents until it went viral on social media.

In a certificate of dismissal issued by the Principal of Cibeureum State Elementary School 1 Novi Yeni, the honorary teacher was declared loyal and disobedient to the school leadership. Even though Reza only made a report on the alleged extortion during the Admission of New Students (PPDB).

For the struggle of students and parents who felt helped by Reza's courage, the dismissal was finally canceled. On the other hand, the Head of Cibeureum 1 Elementary School Novi Yeni was fired by the Mayor of Bogor, Bima Arya, for a gratification case.

Puan also supported the dismissal because the principal was considered to have tarnished the moral values of education.

"The education environment must be clean from extortion. Because in schools, we educate the nation's future successors so that they must be educated and fostered in noble and commendable ways," said the first woman to serve as Chair of the DPR RI.

"If possible, firm actions on violations are carried out before it goes viral. So supervision and monitoring must be carried out optimally," continued Puan.

The former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture also felt ironic about the dismissal of Guru Reza by the former Principal of Cibeureum 1 State Elementary School. Puan regretted that Reza's bold actions were rewarded with dismissal.

"We are grateful that this problem can be open, so that it can be an example for other teachers to dare to do virtues and fight violations. Of course this is also thanks to the role of students, parents of students, and the community," he said.

Puan reminded that the success of children's education has an effect on environmental patterns in schools. According to her, schools must uphold integrity in managing access to education for Indonesian children.

"This year's PPDB is prone to fraud, including the number of extortion in public schools. This has tarnished the integrity of education which should be the door to the success of the nation's successors," said Puan.

He added that education is the basic right of every Indonesian child. For this reason, Puan assessed that commitments from schools, the government, and parents of students are needed to prevent extortion in the educational environment.

"Wild levies in schools must be eradicated. The DPR also continues to ensure support through our functions and authorities so that children's education in Indonesia is of high quality and accessible to all citizens, without any illegal actions," he said.

Puan also encouraged the Regional Government to take firm steps if they found violations in the school environment, as did the Bogor City Government.

"It takes firmness from the Government to break the chain of extortion in schools, no matter how small it is. Strict action will have a deterrent effect for unscrupulous teachers or other school principals who dare to commit disgraceful acts," said Puan.