Fired After Posting Salary, Proof Of The Fate Of Honorary Teachers Is Still Shifting

Illustration / Between

JAKARTA - The case of an honorary teacher who was fired after uploading a nominal salary of Rp. 700 thousand on social media proves that the fate of his profession is still adrift of welfare.

This case occurred in Bone District, South Sulawesi. Later, the Bone Education Office explained that the dismissal was not due to uploading salaries on social media, but because of civil servant teachers assigned to these schools.

Regardless of the reason, Secretary General of the Federation of Indonesian Teachers' Unions (FSGI) Heru Purnomo thinks this case proves that professional protection for honorary teachers is very weak.

"This is evident in the principal's action of firing through the WhatsApp application. The pretext shows that honorarium teachers are vulnerable to being fired at any time by schools and foundations," Heru said when contacted, Tuesday, February 16.

Heru said FSGI had analyzed the case of the dismissal of Hervina, an honorarium teacher in Bone district who had served for 16 years with a relatively small salary, far from the UMR in her area.

First, this dismissal has the potential to violate Law Number 14 of 2005 concerning Teachers and Lecturers. Teacher dismissal via the Whatsapp application has no legal force.

This is because Article 30 paragraph (1) of Law 14/2005 states that the reason for dismissal of teachers with respect that may be done by education providers is that teachers resign and end their contracts.

"Even when the reason for dismissal was because there were 2 civil servant teachers assigned to SDN 169 Desa Sadar, it was also an arbitrary act that violated the general principles of good governance, especially since the honorarium teacher has taught for 16 years," he explained.

Second, officials from the Bone Education Office are not careful regarding the placement and mapping of teachers in their region. "The regional head must evaluate the Education Office's policies that are not accurate in the placement and participation of teachers in their area," he said.