Ministry Of Education And Culture Budget Cuts IDR 8 T, DPR Asks Teacher Allowance Not To Be Reduced

Illustration of madrasah teachers (ANTARA)

According to Hilman, teacher allowances are a basic need as well as a form of State appreciation to educators who play an important role in educating the nation's children.

"Perhaps other certain budget posts may be cut as an efficiency effort, but the teacher certification allowance budget should not be tampered with. This is an absolute allowance that must be given to teachers," said Hilman, Monday, February 10.

To note, the government cut the budget for a large-scale ministry/institutional expenditure by 2025 to reach Rp306 trillion. Among the expenditure items cut are in the education sector.

The Ministry of Basic and Medium Education (Kemendikdasmen) budget has been cut by a budget of IDR 8.035 trillion. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Kemendiktisaintek) was cut by IDR 22.5 trillion.

Pria yang disapa Gus Hilman itu mengaku bisa memahami langkah efisiensi yang dilakukan Pemerintah di tengah kesulitan ekonomi saat ini. Selain itu, dia menilai, memang ada beberapa pos yang mungkin tidak efektif.

Namun untuk sektor pendidikan, Gus Hilman mengingatkan bahwa sesuai dengan misi Asta Cita, target Indonesia Emas 2045 tidak mungkin bisa dicapai jika pembangunan sumber daya manusia (SDM) tidak dijadikan prioritas.

"Therefore, this education sector must be a top priority for development. The main requirement for realizing Indonesia Gold 2045 is that we have superior human resources, and that must start from now on, from school," said the PKB legislator from the East Java electoral district.

Hilman said, one of the keys to realizing good education is to ensure the welfare of educators. "If we look at schools or madrasas in those areas, their salaries if they only rely on each school are still very concerning. Some only receive Rp. 300 thousand a month, some even below it," he said.

Therefore, he added, teacher certification allowances are very important. "Don't let teachers have struggled to educate the nation's children but not get awards from the state," concluded Gus Hilman.