Indonesia Faces a Shortage of 1 Million Teachers in Public Schools

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – An additional 1 million teachers in Indonesia are needed within the country’s public school system, according to Indonesian Vice President Ma’ruf Amin.

For the past four years, the number of educators in Indonesia has gone down by 6 percent annually as many enter the retirement years.

Replacements of retired teachers have been slow while a growing number of Indonesians are enrolled in schools.

“The shortage of teachers has so far been met due to honorary teaching staff.”

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The Indonesian Vice President said that the government views honorary teachers without a clear status to be at a disadvantage. Their livelihoods are far different than those who have a civil servant status.

Despite their talents and years of experience, honorary teaching staff in Indonesia’s public schools do not reap the benefits.

As such, the government plans on conducting open recruitment for public school teachers next year.

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Ma’ruf Amin explained that the recruitment plans are partly to tackle the issue of their status as educators in the country.