The Increase In Teacher's Salary Of IDR 2 Million Per Month Has Conditions, Potentially Creates Horizontal Conflict

The Education and Teacher Association or P2G hopes that the increase in salaries of IDR 2 million per month will be felt by all teachers. (ANTARA/Muhammad Adimaja/hp)

JAKARTA Discussion about the additional news of a teacher's salary of IDR 2 million per month is still a hot topic of conversation lately. Satriwan Salim as the National Coordinator of the Education and Teachers Association or P2G collects President Prabowo Subianto's promise regarding additional salaries for teachers.

The increase in teacher salaries is one of the items in President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka's vision and mission in the 2024 presidential election campaign (Pilpres). This was revealed by Deputy Chairman of the Gerindra Board of Trustees Hashim Djojohadikusumo.

He previously said that the Prabowo-Gibran pair would increase the salaries of teachers and honoraries by Rp. 2 million per month. According to Hashim, the plan to increase the salary will still be adjusted to the fiscal condition of the state budget.

"We will also slowly discuss this, but all of this is that we adjust it to the current government-regulated budget. That is a fiscal reality," Hashim said in the National Dialogue on the Nutritional Food Program on August 3.

On the same occasion, Hashim expressed his belief that the APBN was able to finance the increase in salaries of teachers and honorary workers.

Prabowo's promise to increase the teacher's salary of Rp. 2 million per month is one of the efforts to improve the world of Indonesian education. As is known, the PISA Indonesia score is 72 out of 80 countries. For the record, the PISA score is an assessment designed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to measure the educational achievements of a country.

Hashim said, this poor educational condition was not only caused by the stunting problems experienced by students, but also because educators who received wages were not feasible.

After Prabowo Subianto was sworn in as president, his promise to provide an additional Rp2 million per month salary to the teacher was billed. However, this idea became a polemic following the statement of the Ministry of Elementary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) that they were currently working on qualifying teachers who deserved to receive additional salaries.

The Minister of Elementary and Secondary Education (Mendikdasmen) Abdul Mu'ti emphasized that not all teachers will receive additional salaries in this amount and must meet the qualifications so as not to fight for each other.

"There is (criteria), if you don't fight over it later," explained Abdul Mu'ti.

"So don't let those who have the right, don't accept, those who are not entitled to receive it. This really depends on the accuracy," he said.

The scheme for adding a salary of Rp. 2 million per month for teachers, explained Abdul Mu'ti, is planned to happen next year. The intended teacher is the one with the status of the State Civil Apparatus (ASN) and the certified honorary teacher. Now the Ministry of Education and Culture is recording the number of teachers in Indonesia.

Abdul Mu'ti's statement that teachers who will receive an additional salary of Rp. 2 million per month are prioritized only for those who have certification, actually sparked a polemic. This is considered to cause intergroup jealousy.

P2G National Coordinator, Satriwan Salim, emphasized that President Prabowo previously ensured that all teachers in Indonesia would receive an additional salary of IDR 2 million per month.

"First, it must be clarified, what does it mean? If you refer to Pak Prabowo's promise, the teacher's income will increase by Rp. 2 million per month and this applies to all teachers without distinguishing the status of ASN or honorary, private or public teachers," said Satriwan.

"Mr. Hashim's promise is to give an additional IDR 2 million per month regardless of the status of the teacher. So this must be one voice, what will the increase be like?" he added.

According to Satriwan, the campaign promise to increase the salaries of teachers by Rp. 2 million per month is a beautiful gift for educators, especially those with honorary status because their income is still far from prosperous. For this reason, in order to avoid horizontal conflicts, Satriwan hopes that the Prabowo government will fulfill their promise to all teachers without exception.

"That's why back to Prabowo's promise, namely to equalize all of them to get a salary of Rp. 2 million, be it ASN teachers, honorary, private, madrasah," he said.

The Rp2 million per month salary increase is considered a positive step to improve the welfare of teachers in Indonesia. But economic observer from Sebelas Maret University (UNS) Solo Bhimo Rizky Samudro said the implementation of the policy would face challenges, especially in terms of the education budget.

"Economically, this is a popular policy, but the costs needed are quite high. The increase in teacher salaries will affect the budget posture, and there needs to be certainty regarding the source of the funds," he said.

Bhimo also emphasized the importance of careful planning to ensure that the salary increase does not cause a budget deficit. Regarding the motivation behind this promise, Bhimo argues that in addition to improving welfare, there is a long-term goal to attract the interest of the younger generation to become teachers.

"If it is not regulated properly, there could be a heavy burden on the state budget," said Bhimo.

"This is a response to public complaints, and the hope is that it can improve the quality of education," he added.

However, Bhimo reminded the government not only to focus on salary, but also to consider the impact on other professions that may feel jealousy. "If it is not managed wisely, all professional segments can ask for the same thing," he said.

As a solution, Bhimo suggested that the government implement a gradual policy in increasing teacher salaries, to maintain budget balance and ensure the sustainability of education programs.

Regarding the budget, Satriwan Salim believes that President Prabowo Subianto and his team have calculated it in the 2025 State Budget. He said that next year's education budget will be IDR 722 trillion.

"If each teacher is beaten equally by Rp. 2 million, then the budget will not reach Rp. 80 trillion one year with a total of 3.2 million teachers. This means that it is only less than 10 percent of the education budget," he concluded.