The Sadness of Teachers' Salaries in Indonesia

According to the BPS report on the education situation in Indonesia in 2022. The number of teachers in Indonesia has decreased from the previous year, the largest decline in statistics occurred in elementary school teachers. Of course, it is necessary to find out the causes.

One of the factors is Salary. Teachers' salaries are one of the important indicators of a country's appreciation for the profession and quality itself. Based on data collected from the Jobstreet job vacancy site. The lowest average teacher salary in Indonesia in October 2023 was IDR 2.4 million per month.

And based on Government Regulation Number 5 of 2024 concerning Civil Servant Salaries, the salary of Group I PNS teachers ranges from IDR 1,685,700 to IDR 2,901,400 / month.

If the salary of civil servant teachers is not enough, what about the salary of honorary teachers? The salary of honorary teachers in Indonesia is far from even. Honorary teachers' salaries range from Rp. 1.5 million to Rp. 2 million in big cities. While in the regions it only ranges from Rp. 300 thousand to Rp. 1 million with an uncertain time period.

The Ministry of Education and Culture revealed why honorary teacher salaries are very small. Minister Muhadjir realized that honorary teacher salaries are very small. The small salaries of honorary teachers are because the principal pays their salaries. Therefore, the regional government cannot issue salaries for honorary teachers. And some other causes of small honorary teacher salaries are that honorary teachers do not have employee status. This makes them have no guarantee of job security.

It is certainly sad for a noble profession with a salary that is considered insufficient for daily needs for a month. According to Katadata Indonesia, teacher salaries in Indonesia are very small when compared to neighboring countries.

And why does that happen? One of the main causes of low teacher salaries is the lack of appreciation for the teaching profession in society. In fact, teachers play a very important role in shaping the future of the nation. However, they are often not appreciated as they should be in terms of financial compensation.

It can be concluded that the decline in the number of teachers in Indonesia is due to salary factors and the high number of non-certified honorary teachers, which has caused the burden of teacher professional education to increase.