DPR: SPK Teacher Allowances According To Law, Must Be Returned

Schoolchildren illustration (Image by AkshayaPatra Foundation from Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The DPR has requested that the teacher professional allowance at the Collaborative Education Unit (SPK), which was removed from the Regulation of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Education and Culture Number 6 of 2020, will be returned immediately. The return of the professional allowance is in accordance with Law Number 14 of 2006 concerning Teachers and Lecturers.

This was conveyed by Deputy Chairman of Commission X DPR RI Abdul Fikri Faqih. He said, this regulation had troubled the certification teachers at the SPK.

"This regulation worries the certification teachers at SPK. We must return it according to the mandate of Law No. 14 of 2005 concerning Teachers and Lecturers," said Fikri in his statement, Saturday, July 18.

Fikri is a former teacher. So naturally he could feel the unrest of the affected teachers if this policy was implemented by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Education and Culture. For him, the teacher professional allowance is the right of all teachers who have received a professional certificate according to the mandate of the Teacher and Lecturer Law.

When all the requirements have been met, there is no need for a juridical reason to remove the professional allowance for the SPK teachers. "If the obligations have been fulfilled, then the teacher's rights must still be given. There should be no discrimination," exclaimed this PKS politician.

Previously, the Indonesian SPK Teacher Forum complained to Commission X DPR RI regarding the termination of the professional allowance stipulated in the Ministry of Education and Culture Secretary General's Regulation Number 6 of 2020. This complaint was submitted because the regulation was deemed contrary to Law Number 14 of 2005 concerning Teachers and Lecturers.

In a public hearing chaired by Deputy Chairman of Commission X DPR RI Abdul Fikri Faqih, the teacher asked the Minister of Education and Culture Nadiem Makarim to cancel the secretary general's regulation. After revoking, these teachers want the professional allowance to be given back to them.

Before closing the meeting, Commission X DPR RI said that it would help teachers who lost their right to allowances. "Commission X considers it necessary to carry out a supervisory function on this policy. Commission X wants to hear directly from the SMA education unit regarding the distribution of teacher professional allowances," he concluded.