Mendikdasmen Abdul: No Plans To Eliminate Honorary Teachers

Minister of Basic and Secondary Education (Mendikdasmen) Abdul Mu'ti. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Basic and Secondary Education (Mendikdasmen) Abdul Mu'ti said that his party had no plans to eliminate honorary teachers considering their role in the Indonesian education ecosystem which was considered important.

"We have no plans to eliminate honorary teachers because so far we still really need the position and role of honorary teachers," said Abdul at the South Sumatra Province Mobilizing Teacher Hall Building, Palembang, quoted from Antara, Saturday, November 2.

He said that the presence of honorary teachers was a solution to two problems related to the availability of teachers in Indonesia, namely distribution in various regions and the availability of teachers in certain fields of study.

"Especially related to the availability of teachers in certain fields of study. Nationally, the number of our teachers is actually sufficient. Our problem is the distribution of teachers," he said.

Abdul did not rule out the possibility that if it was supported by adequate funding, his party would attract more honorary teachers as teachers in the fields of studies who still needed educators.

"Maybe if for example the budget is possible, then we will recruit teachers in certain fields of study," he said.

It is known, Mendikdasmen Abdul Mu'ti launched the National Teacher's Month in order to enliven the commemoration of National Teacher's Day (HGN) which falls on November 25.

Abdul said that President Prabowo Subianto has a vision in building superior human resources to be realized through education, namely by requiring 13 years of learning.

"Indeed, now we are trying to improve education services for all and the implementation will be obliged to study for 13 years," said Abdul.

He revealed three efforts to improve the quality of teachers in Indonesia in order to create quality education and produce superior human resources.

Abdul explained the first effort related to teacher certification where he mentioned that not all teachers in Indonesia have a Diploma 4 (D4) or Strata 1 (S1) academic degree. Therefore, the Ministry of Education will help teachers to obtain a D4 or S1 diploma through scholarships or educational assistance programs.

The second effort is to improve teacher competence. Abdul said that there are four teacher competencies that must be achieved, namely academic competence, pedagogical competence, social competence, and moral competence.

Therefore, his party will improve Teacher Professional Education (PPG), one of which is by adding counseling and value education materials to prospective teachers.

The third is the improvement of teacher welfare because he considers that the quality and quality of teachers is determined by their welfare. Therefore, Abdul stated that his party is committed to improving the welfare of teachers in Indonesia.