DPR Calls Supriyani Case An Example Of Vulnerable Teacher Profession, Alludes To The Phenomenon Of Criminalization

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JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of Commission X DPR RI, MY Esti Wijayati highlighted the case of honorary teacher Supriyani who became a suspect after being accused of molesting a police child student in South Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi (Sultra). According to him, the Suryani case is an example of how vulnerable the current position of teacher profession is, especially honorary teachers.

"Honor teachers like Mrs. Supriyani are often in a vulnerable position, where they not only have to fulfill their teaching responsibilities, but also deal with legal risks in their process of coaching students," said MY Esti Wijayati, Friday, October 25.

Esti assessed that the education system that should protect teachers and provide them with support in carrying out their duties has actually become a threat to teachers.

"The Supriyani teacher case is an example of how vulnerable the teaching profession is in today's era, especially for honorary teachers whose struggles in carrying out their duties are very large," he said.

As is known, Supriyani received a lot of attention after her story went viral on social media. The lecturer at SDN 4 Baito was accused of beating a grade 1 student with the initials MC who is a child of a police personnel at the Baito Police.

Even so, Supriyani, who was detained, insisted that she had never beaten MC, plus there was testimony that supported Supriyani's innocence. The LBH Association of Young Indonesian Advocates (HAMI) as Supriyani's attorney also mentioned that there were many irregularities in this case.

One of the things that was in the spotlight on this case was because initially MC students told their mother that they had a wound on their thigh because they fell in the rice fields. However, after being pressured by his father, the child changed his confession and stated that he was mistreated by Supriyani.

"The most striking thing in the case of Mrs. Supriyani is related to intervention and reactions from students' parents which I think are excessive. Especially when one party has power or influence, of course this burdens the teacher," said Esti.

"Penomena like this is not uncommon in our education system. Even though reactions or interventions that are too excessive and disproportionate can actually damage the education process," added the legislator from the DI Yogyakarta electoral district.

Esti reminded that the profession of teachers is protected, one of which is contained in the Regulation of the Ministry of Education and Culture Number 10 of 2017 concerning Protection for Educators and Education Personnel.

This protection includes protection from violence, threats, discriminatory treatment, intimidation, and unfair treatment. The regulation also regulates the protection of teachers from students, parents of students, communities, bureaucracy, and other parties related to the duties of educators and education staff.

"The teacher's profession clearly has protection when he is in the teaching and learning process. However, Supriyani's case shows parental intervention and intimidation that can threaten the safety of teachers in carrying out their roles," said Esti.

For this reason, Esti encourages the Government and educational units to participate in providing assistance in accordance with the mandate of the Ministry of Education and Culture Regulation 10/2017 articles 2 to 4, especially the Ministry of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Regional Government.

"The government is obliged to provide legal assistance for teachers who have problems with the law. Mrs. Supriyani is even looking for legal assistance herself," he said.

"The promise to increase the status of a PPPK teacher is not enough because Mrs. Supriyani is caught in a legal case while carrying out her duties. She who has dedicated her life to education, the nation's children are entitled to protection from the government," continued Esti.

For information, the Ministry of Elementary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) has stated that it will appoint Supriyani as a teacher for Government Employees with Work Agreements (PPPK) through affirmation channels. This guarantee was given by the Ministry of Education and Culture after the Supriyani case received public attention.

Furthermore, Esti said legal assistance from the Government was increasingly needed given the alleged intimidation and extortion of Supriyani.

"We agree that abuse of children cannot be justified, but maximum legal assistance can help reveal the facts that actually happened in this case," he said.

Apart from Supriyani's case, the member of the council who is also on duty at the DPR RI Budget Agency (Banggar) emphasized that teachers are a key element in the education system. Esti said this was because teachers were not only tasked with teaching, but also guiding and shaping students' characters through teaching disciplinary values, responsibilities, and ethics.

"The burden of teachers today is very heavy and there are many challenges. Because what is happening now is that teachers lack the power to provide guidance to students in a form of discipline because the phenomenon of parental reactions that little-slight brings problems to the realm of law," said Esti.

Fear of being criminalized, in the end, teachers become less disciplined in education for children who commit violations. Esti said, this is one of the factors in the lack of character education for children.

Termasuk kemudian banyak terjadi kasus kekerasan anak dan bullying di sekolah itu karena kekurangan pembinaan disiplin dari guru. Anak-anak pun jadi kurang memperhatikan rasa or keganganan pada guru mereka. Berbeda seperti zaman kita dulu, katanya.

Esti understands that it is true that there have been various cases of teacher violence against his students. However, he said that not all disciplinary actions applied by the teacher were a form of violence so that it could not be generalized.

"If teachers do violence, they must and must be prosecuted and subject to sanctions. But I invite all people, especially parents, to support the character development process carried out by teachers at school for the development of the character of our children," explained Esti.