Pak Nadiem, Indonesian Teachers Need More Than Small Change Invitations

Minister of Education and Culture Nadiem Makarim (Irfanmedianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - Minister of Education and Culture (Mendikbud) Nadiem Makariem shared two speeches ahead of National Teacher's Day and it went viral on social media. In his speech, Nadiem expressed his thoughts on the education system in Indonesia.

The former CEO of Gojek understands that bringing change to the world of education in Indonesia is not easy. He also did not want to share empty promises while serving as Minister of Education and Culture.

At least President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) hopes to make him a minister, because Nadiem is a person who dares to issue unusual ideas or Out of The Box. It is hoped that this will create a big leap, if the picture is in the long-term program and is not just a small direction.

"I will not make empty promises to you. Change is difficult and full of inconveniences. One thing is for sure, I will fight for freedom of study in Indonesia," said Nadiem in his speech for National Teachers' Day, Monday, November 25.

#SahabatDikbud, along with the speech of Minister of Education and Culture Nadiem Makarim at the 2019 National Teachers Day flag ceremony.

- Ministry of Education and Culture (@Kemdikbud_RI) 2019. november 23.

Nadiem asked teachers to start making small changes in the classroom. Starting from inviting the class to discuss not just listening, then giving students opportunities to teach in class, initiating social service projects that involve the whole class, discovering a talent in students who are less confident, and offering help to teachers who are experiencing difficulties.

In these points, it can be said that Nadiem wants teachers to change the learning system they have been doing so far. It's just that, it seems Nadiem forgot that the teachers followed the rules of the curriculum made by the Ministry of Education and Culture.

"Whatever small changes are, if each teacher does it simultaneously, the big ship called Indonesia will certainly move. Happy teachers day," said Nadiem.

#SahabatDikbud, what do you think about the message of Minister of Education and Culture Nadiem Makarim regarding "Freedom to Learn" and "Teacher Mobilization"?

- Ministry of Education and Culture (@Kemdikbud_RI) 2019. november 25.

Constraints experienced by Indonesian teachers

The teachers could have made the breakthroughs that Minister Nadiem urged them to do. It's just that, Nadiem also has to see how vast the regions in Indonesia are so that one problem cannot be generalized.

One of the problems that is often discussed is the welfare of teachers in each region. Quoted from Business Insider, teacher allowances and salaries in Indonesia are even at the same level as Slovakia and Lithuania.

According to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the average teacher allowances and salaries in Indonesia are around USD 2,830 per year or around IDR 39 million in the current rupiah exchange rate. This figure is still lower than the salary of teachers in Lithuania, which is USD 20,000 per year.

This problem was exacerbated by the placement of teachers who were scattered in a number of disadvantaged, frontier and remote areas or 3T. In addition to being required to teach students in areas that are very difficult to reach, teachers also receive small salaries and are not sufficient to meet their needs.

One of them was Maria Marseli who taught at a school in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). Maria, who has taught for 7 years at SDN Kepeketik, Sikka, NTT, only receives a salary of Rp. 75 thousand per month. Even so, Maria still continues her intention to educate the nation's children in the area where she lives.

"I serve sincerely here. One of the most important things is the future of the children. If no one teaches here, the future of the children must be bleak. Children are the next generation of this nation," said Maria, as quoted by Antara. from the Kompas page.

The uneven distribution of teachers should also be a concern for the Ministry of Education and Culture. According to data from the Ministry of Education and Culture, the largest distribution of teachers was in East Java, amounting to 190,878 teachers.

This is inversely proportional to the area of West Papua which only has 8,517 teachers. In fact, the Ministry of Education and Culture also stated that the number of teachers in Indonesia is quite large, namely around 2 million.

As reported by the Indonesian Teacher (IGI), teachers have to do other things outside of school. For example, making reports on learning to school supervisors, certification, and promotion to get a decent salary.

Not to mention, teacher certification must prepare various documents to be able to follow the selection process. The teaching process is carried out in moderation, because the teacher has other things to do.

Mendikbud Nadiem himself admitted that the burden of teachers in Indonesia has increased due to the administrative system. Nadiem's appeal to invite teachers to change should be accompanied by what breakthroughs he will do to support these changes. Like the speech he gave, change is difficult, because of the difficulty the ministry and teachers should be able to work together to drive this change.