The Dismissal Of Honorary Teachers Is Only A Companion From Karutat's Teacher Governance

A teacher gave a lesson on the first day of school at SD Negeri Karet 01, Jakarta, Monday (8/7/2024). (ANTARA/Bayu Pratama S/rwa/aa)

JAKARTA Termination of employment (PHK) for hundreds of honorary teachers in Jakarta is still a polemic. On the one hand, there are still many public schools that need honorary teachers, but on the other hand the Education Office says they are recruited by schools that are not in accordance with regulations.

Since Tuesday (16/7/2024), the news about 107 honorary teachers in Jakarta who have been dismissed unilaterally through the cleaning or cleaning system continues to be a topic of conversation. The Head of the Advocacy Division of Education and Teacher Accompanying (P2G) Iman Zanatul Haeri suspects that what has happened to teachers in Jakarta is part of the phenomenon of removing honorary teachers which also occurs in various regions.

In Garut, for example, the hours of teaching around 466 honorary teachers continued to decrease to zero hours of lessons. Or in the incident in North Lampung, where it does not open the selection of government employee teachers with Work Agreements (PPPK). Even though the PPPK selection is a way for honorary teachers to have the status of State Civil Apparatus (ASN).

Deputy Secretary General of PB PGRI Wijaya said that the policy of cleaning honorary teachers needs to be reviewed by looking for the root of the problem.

"It is better to look from several sides, look for the root of the problem. What can be done is to review the dismissal of this honorary teacher," Wijaya told VOI.

Steps that can be taken in the form of review, verification, and validation of honorary teachers. Which ones are not in accordance with the rules, but not being laid off," he added.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Indonesian Teachers' Unions (FSGI) encourages honorary teachers who are really needed to be given contract teachers status. That way it is hoped that they will become twin-win solutions. Honorary teachers continue to work, the school does not lack teachers.

"In order to appreciate the prohibition on the appointment of non-ASN employees to fill ASN positions according to Law No. 20 of 2023, as long as these teachers are very much needed, the solution is contracted under the name of the School Contract Teacher," said FSGI's statement in his statement.

Fani, not her real name, admitted to getting a message saying she could no longer teach at school. Even though he had just started his first class after a class promotion holiday on July 11, 2024. And he has become unemployed since that day.

"Some friends have been looking for vacancies to private schools, but they have entered the new school year, so it is difficult to vaccinate their jobs," said Fani at a press conference held by P2G and the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) Jakarta, Wednesday (17/7/2024).

Being a teacher is Fani's dream since she was in junior high school and she started her career in 2021. Fani was contacted by a principal who needed a PPKn teacher not long after graduating from college.

At that time he pocketed IDR 1.35 million per month which was paid every three months because it was sourced from the School Operational Fund (BOS). A year later, the wages rose to IDR 4.2 million per month.

In August 2023, his position as an honorary teacher was shifted by a teacher who passed the PPPK and was placed in the school. He then received a call from another public school in East Jakarta, which lacked PPKn teachers.

A teacher is teaching students. (ANTARA/Syaiful Arif)

The school has 18 classes, but there is only one subject teacher.

"Imagine that one teacher has to teach 18 classes, and one class has three hours of lessons. Is it possible? Finally, the principal recruited me," said dFani.

However, Fani's status in Basic Education Data is still registered in an old school. His new school did not dare to continue recruiting Feni because of the administrative case.

As a result, the PPKn lessons that Fani should have taught were taken over by teachers who used to teach other subjects. And when he was able to return to teaching, this sudden dismissal actually happened.

Another honorary teacher, Andi Febriansyah, also experienced a similar story. He and other honorary teachers were suddenly called by the principal regarding this ordering'.

Although until now Andi is still allowed to teach by the principal, he is wary because he is in danger of really losing his job if all honorary teachers are dismissed later at the end of December.

Andi was shocked and confused. He pocketed an honorarium of IDR 3 million per month which was paid every three months. Andi is the backbone of the family. His parents were not working, while his two younger siblings were studying.

"I can only teach, because I am an education graduate. My ability is to teach," he said.

Like Fani, Andi also has to wait until the new school year begins if he intends to move to private schools.

What happened to Fani and Andi was the aftermath of the decision of the DKI Jakarta Education Office. Acting Head of the Jakarta Health Office Budi Awaluddin said that the honorary teachers were not fired, but rather ordering and controlling so that the teachers were truly orderly'.

"The condition is that these honorary teachers are appointed by the principal, paid for with School Operational Assistance (BOS) funds without a clear selection," Budi said at a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday (17/07).

Budi said that around 4,000 honorary teachers were appointed not through selection and would be subject to arrangement. The results of the examination by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) in 2023 found that the map of the need for honorary teachers did not comply with the rules of honorary recipients.

According to him, the appointment of honorary teachers should be carried out by the head of the service through a selection based on the Regulation of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology Number 1 of 2018.

The Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI) expressed disappointment with the Clearing decision made by Disdik Jakarta against 107 honorary teachers. The Deputy Secretary General of PB PGRI Wijaya said that the arrangement of honorary teachers should have been carried out in ways that prioritized concern, through the coaching process, and found solutions for the teacher.

"So don't focus on just 107 teachers. There must be other things to explore, why the teacher was dismissed. Including BPK's findings, it should be communicated. Is the recruitment not obeying the rules, disobeying the administration?" said Wijaya.

"This is the wrong moment, this decision should have been socialized first, there was a mapping," he added.

Regarding the phenomenon of teacher shortages, as mentioned by Fani, Wijaya did not addressed this. According to Wijaya, teacher shortages do not only occur locally and nationally, but also globally.

This is where the chaotic behavior of teachers in Indonesia can be seen, starting from teacher education, recruitment, coaching, and breeding, in this case the salaries of honorary teachers.

"The teacher's lack is a fact that the teacher recruitment process must be reviewed, criticized. Don't let it become a problem at other times," he said.

If the teacher is really needed, it means that there is a wrong decision. As of this year alone, many teachers have retired, can the teacher's needs be met?

According to Wijaya, the recent dismissal of honorary teachers was only a piece of chaotic teacher governance that occurred in Indonesia, the root of the problem was the political will of the relevant Ministry, the Provincial Government and the Regency/City Government.

He hopes that this arrangement must be communicated first, so that it does not immediately clear or dismiss honorary teachers at the wrong moment.

"Hopefully there will be a recall process, especially in schools that lack teachers," said Wijaya.

The Federation of Indonesian Teachers' Unions (FGSI) has also opened its voice over the weeklyization of honorary teachers in Jakarta. FSGI Secretary General Heru Purnomo proposed several solutions.

One of them is giving a contract called 'School Teacher Contract'. This contract will later be subject to Article 1320 of the Civil Code, for teachers who are really needed by schools. This is done as a form of respecting the prohibition on the appointment of non-ASN employees to fill ASN positions in accordance with Law No. 20 of 2023.

Given that the number of ASN teachers entering retirement is high and incommensurate with the number of replacements, honorary teachers are really needed in many schools in various regions.

"Therefore, FSGI proposes that honorary teachers not be laid off, but are encouraged to be contracted," said Heru.

He emphasized that the payment of the teacher honorarium in question using BOS funds was in accordance with the technical instructions (juknis) BOS Permendikbudristek number 6 of 2021 article 12, which regulates the use of BOS funds, including for payment of honorary teacher salaries.