Agus Maryono and Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Purbalingga, Medan | Thu, 11/26/2009 1:30 PM
Teachers from across the nation commemorated the Indonesian Teachers Union (PGRI)'s 64th anniversary in various ways on Wednesday.
In Purbalingga, Central Java, as many as 8,000 PGRI members celebrated the occasion by breaking the Indonesian Museum of Records (MURI) with the largest number of choir members at the Guntur Daryono Stadium in Purbalingga on Wednesday. The choir, which sang the PGRI anthem, was recorded in the MURI book of records and signed by MURI head Jaya Suprana.
Purbalingga has so far recorded 12 feats in the MURI, such as a museum with the largest collection of international banknotes, the most number of children washing hands simultaneously and the biggest exhaust pipe.
"We hope the feat achieved by the choir can invigorate the spirit of teachers to inspire the nation's children," Purbalingga Regent Triyono Budisasongko told thousands of teachers.
He expressed hope that Purbalingga could promote positive sentiments in the regency.
Purbalingga's PGRI head, Iskhak, said the record-breaking choir was aimed at raising teachers' motivation and devotion toward their profession.
Central Java's PGRI deputy chairman, Tulus Wibowo, said after the event the province was in short supply of teachers and still needed teachers at all levels of education, adding that around 20 percent more teachers were still needed to meet ideal demand in the province, inhabited by 32 million people.
He said Central Java was currently equipped with 235,000 teachers, 90 percent of whom were civil servants, while the rest were temporary teachers.
"We still need at least 25,000 more teachers, but we realize that it is difficult to achieve this due to various obstacles," Tulus told The Jakarta Post.
He added that among the drawbacks was the unequal number of teachers retiring with those being employed, besides the central government's policy of banning the employment of temporary teachers at every school.
"Every year an average of 2 percent or around 2,500 teachers retire, while the percentage of teachers appointed as civil servants is just 1 percent," said Tulus.
In response, the Central Java PGRI, added Tulus, had eventually authorized school committees, represented by parents, to con-sider paying a salary to temporary teachers.
In Medan, North Sumatra, hundreds of teachers affiliated with the local PGRI staged a rally at the city's legislative council, demanding the government re-evaluate the distribution of assistance in the form of incentives for private school teachers, which were subject to manipulation by officials.
Medan's PGRI head Partomuan Silitonga said the incentives were prone to manipulation, such as delayed payments and cuts.
He said private school teachers in Medan should have received incentives in July this year, but failed to receive them as of the end of the month. "Dishonest officials have likely placed as much as Rp 1.4 billion *US$140,000* in private school teachers' incentive allowances in banks so they can earn interest. We urge law enforcers to investigate this," Partomuan told the crowd during the rally.
Another protester, Ismayanti, said she had never received the incentives that had been provided for the past several years during her 29 years as a teacher.
"I have never received such incentives. The government promised that I would get Rp 1.2 million this year, funds of which are derived from the provincial budget. I feel so sad," she said.
