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Indonesia needs more elementary school teachers, says PGRI
Indonesia is in need of at least 400,000 more elementary school teachers in order to fulfill the need for educators in the regions, says the Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI)
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ndonesia is in need of at least 400,000 more elementary school teachers in order to fulfill the need for educators in the regions, says the Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI).
PGRI chairman Sulistiyo explained that while the number of junior high school (SMP) and high school (SMA) teachers was considered enough, there was a need for more elementary school teachers in all provinces, particularly in disadvantaged regions.
Aside from the quantity, Sulistiyo also questioned the quality of active school teachers, many of whom he said were recruited when standards were below par.
'Back then, hiring teachers with a senior high school background was acceptable, but now quality is becoming increasingly important. The educational standard of teachers is a concern for us as well,' he said on Tuesday as quoted by Antara news agency.
He added that vocational schools (SMK) also needed more teachers with specific expertise in a subject.
Sulistiyo said the government did not have a strong data system to record the quality of active teachers or the quantity. There is also high demand from active high school teachers for guidance counseling.
Meanwhile, the chairperson of the PGRI's Papua branch, Nomensen Mabraku, said that only 5,000 out of 23,000 teachers in Papua had Bachelor degrees, saying that the need for more teachers tended to overshadow the need for a better quality of educators.(dyl)(++++)
