Recently, the Indonesian Alliance of Civil Servant Lecturers under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (ADAKSI) held a symbolic protest by sending flower arrangements to the ministry.
The protest expressed disappointment over the unclear realization of the performance allowance for civil servant lecturers, which has been in place since 2020 but remains unmet.
Civil servant lecturers from the ministry are calling for immediate clarity regarding this allowance and hope it will draft new regulations on performance allowances.
Professor Wahyudi Kumorotomo, a Public Policy Management expert from UGM’s Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (Fisipol UGM), stated that ADAKSI’s concerns represent those of lecturers and teachers as well as those involved in the nation’s education policymaking.
He emphasized that a stronger commitment to education and human resource development is crucial within the next five years as Indonesia heads toward its Golden Era and the second phase of demographic bonus utilization.
“It’s regrettable that the government’s and policymakers’ attention to education, which determines national competitiveness, is diminishing,” Professor Kumorotomo said on Sunday (Jan. 19).
He also criticized the ministry’s current actions, calling them confusing. The previous Ministry of Education’s Decision No. 447/P/2024 outlined plans to provide performance allowance, which should have already been allocated to the government budget.
“It’s strange that this ministry is now claiming the funds from the national budget (APBN) are unavailable. The government’s priorities are truly baffling. The free meal (MBG) program is already underway, and the Ministry of Forestry is planning to open millions of hectares of agricultural land. Yet, many ministers in this bloated cabinet are still complaining about insufficient budgets. Must all budget allocations be determined by ‘who can negotiate harder’?”Professor Kumorotomo added.
He explained that the issue of performance allowance for civil servant lecturers originated with the 2015 Civil Servants Law, which changed the civil servant framework, affecting both civil servants (PNS) and contracted employees (PPPK).
Furthermore, the 2005 Teachers and Lecturers Law, which mandates lecturer certification, has not been fully implemented, especially for younger lecturers who do not yet meet the certification requirements.
“Those without certification do not receive allowances, while certified lecturers do. The uncertified ones are the ones demanding it,” he explained.
Uncertified lecturers have also demanded performance allowance as a replacement for professional allowances. However, the approval process has been slow and complicated further by changes in the ministry’s structure from the Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology and now to the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology.
Professor Kumorotomo believes there is a tendency for irregular budget allocation patterns within the government, as seen in the negotiation over judges’ pay raises, which involved direct presidential intervention.
If the allowance for lecturers remains unrealized, Professor Kumorotomo predicts that ADAKSI and the lecturer and teacher communities will continue to voice their demands loudly.
“This situation is unhealthy because all funding matters in ministries and institutions seem to be based on political negotiations, not the objective needs of each ministry’s programs,” he concluded.
Author: Kezia Dwina Nathania
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Afifudin Baliya
Photo: Tempo