The statement by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani questioning whether teachers’ salaries should be fully covered by the state has sparked widespread public reaction. This statement seems to position teachers—the main pillar of the nation’s education—as a “fiscal burden” rather than an “investment in the future.” However, since the founding of the republic, the constitution has affirmed that educating the nation’s life is a primary goal of the state. If the state begins to hesitate in supporting teachers’ welfare, it is essentially neglecting its constitutional mandate.
Labeling teachers as a burden on the state also diminishes their significant role in shaping future generations. Teachers are not merely salaried employees; they are educators who instill values, knowledge, and national character. A decent salary is not a gift but their right as part of civilizational investment. With a salary of IDR 500,000, honorary teachers are often forced to survive amid soaring living costs. Is this what is called a burden? Or is it proof that the state has failed to set budget priorities?
Teachers: Forgotten Unsung Heroes
For decades, teachers have been known as “unsung heroes.” This title seems to emphasize that teachers are noble figures who educate selflessly, shaping the nation’s future generations with extraordinary sacrifice. However, this title often remains mere rhetoric. In practice, teachers are still the group most frequently sidelined in state policies. Ironically, instead of receiving due recognition and welfare, they are now stigmatized as a “burden on the state” by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani.
This statement certainly strikes a moral chord. How can figures who face limitations daily, teaching with dedication despite meager salaries, now be accused of hindering development? This label adds to old, unhealed wounds—the chronic injustice experienced by teachers, especially honorary teachers, who are paid IDR 500,000 to IDR 1 million per month, far below a decent living standard.
The Paradox of Education Budget
Indonesia’s education budget is indeed one of the largest in the state budget, reaching 20% of total state spending. However, the size of this budget does not automatically ensure teachers’ welfare. Most of the funds are absorbed by bureaucracy, infrastructure projects, and programs that often do not directly impact teachers’ quality of life. Then, when educational outcomes are deemed insufficient, teachers are scapegoated and labeled as a burden.
This paradox highlights a gap between numbers on paper and on-the-ground reality. On one hand, the government claims to have allocated a large budget. On the other, teachers still face delayed salaries, excessive workloads, and even teach in schools without adequate facilities. Thus, the irony is clear: those considered a burden are the ones suffering the most in an unjust education system.
Honorary Teachers: Living in Uncertainty
Honorary teachers are the real face of Indonesia’s education irony. They teach with full dedication, yet their status remains unclear. Some have served for decades without ever being appointed as civil servants or government employees with work agreements. They continue to come to school, teaching with spirit, even though their income does not match their hard work. Many must seek side jobs, from online selling to working as motorcycle taxi drivers, to cover daily needs.
Labeling them as a “burden on the state” is clearly an insult. If anyone is burdened, it is the honorary teachers themselves. They are burdened by an unsupportive system, inconsistent policies, and unfulfilled government promises. The statement that teachers are a burden on the state only confirms the state’s failure to understand the reality of educators’ lives.
Who Is Truly a Burden on the State?
Before labeling teachers as a burden, a fundamental question must be asked: who is truly a burden on the state? Is it teachers with modest salaries who continue to serve for the education of the nation’s children, or corruptors who embezzle state funds amounting to trillions of rupiah? If corruption can cause state losses of tens to hundreds of trillions, then clearly the main problem is not teachers’ existence, but the behavior of political elites and officials who plunder public funds.
With simple logic, teachers’ salaries, even combined, do not compare to the losses from a single major corruption scandal. Thus, calling teachers a burden on the state is a misleading diversion. Instead, corruption, sluggish bureaucracy, and mismanagement of education policies are the state’s greatest burdens.
