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AKASSAR, South Sulawesi: Part time teachers in Makassar demanded Thursday the local authorities promote them as civil servants as soon as possible, especially those who have worked for years and passed certification tests.

The demand was disclosed in a rally by about 50 representatives of the part-time teachers who were grouped in the Indonesian Part Time Teachers Association (IGHI) in front of the South Sulawesi Legislative Council in Makassar. In their speeches, part-time teachers complained of the uncertainty of their future even though they had worked for years with a small wage.

“President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has to show his care for us... We’ve worked for years but we have received no promotion,” Agusman, head of IGHI Makassar, said. He said there were at least 18,000 part-time teachers in South Sulawesi with 5,600 working in Makassar.

Even though their workload is known to be similar to civil servants, their wages are very low, he said. There are part-time teachers who are paid only Rp 300,000 [US$33.4], Rp 200,000 or even Rp 50,000 per month, he added. — JP