Government efforts

The Government Efforts to Improve The Quality and Role of Teachers

Law No. 22 of 1999 on local government and the PP 25 of 2000 on the authority of the government and the provincial authority as autonomous regions, Law No.25 of 2000 on Propenas, and Kepmemdiknas No. 122/U/2001 on the Strategic Plan for Development of Education, Youth, and sport in 2000-2004, as well as the Education Law of 2003 provides a strong legal basis for the implementation of quality improvement of teachers and as an educational innovation to achieve a better quality of education personnel both in improving the quality of education. Improving the quality of education can not be removed by improving the quality of educators and power of education.

Law Teachers and Lecturers (UUGD) has been established and has become a policy to realize that professional teachers and establishes qualification and certification as an important part in determining the quality and interest of teachers. Earnest efforts need to be undertaken to achieve a professional teacher, prosperous and competent. This is a necessary condition for creating the system and practice of quality education as a prerequisite for realizing the prosperity and progress of the nation of Indonesia.

According to Rohiyatussakinah (20013), efforts to develop educators and education personnel will be as good as implement several programs, namely: (1) Improvement of Teacher Salary and welfare (2) qualification standards (3) Standards of competence and improvement efforts (4) System certification for educators (5) standard coaching career (6) Preparation of prospective teachers and are aligned with the standards of competence, and more emphasis on the practice and the theory strong (7) Education Training (Diklat) (8) Empowerment professional development organizations such as the KKG, MGMP, MKKS, and MKPS, which need to be empowered.

1)             Improvement of Teacher’s Salary and Welfare

Mohammad Surya, the Chairman of the Board of PGRI, insisted that all success of education reform agenda is ultimately determined by teachers. Rights as a private teacher, the teaching profession stakeholders, community members and citizens which have been neglected, should be a priority in the reform. The main rights of educators should get the attention of government policy is the right to earn income and well-being with a decent wage, not a minimum wage. The policy of “minimum wage” may have led to employee mentality porters, not employed by the pursuit of achievement. That is why; it is the first step to improve the quality of teachers and is providing the welfare of teachers with a decent salary for life

2)             Qualification standards

National Education Minister Regulation No. 16 of 2007 discusses the standard of qualifications and competence of teachers which states that all teachers are required to meet the standards of academic quality and competence of teachers who apply nationally, also that teachers who do not meet the qualification of diploma four (D-IV) or scholar will be governed by a separate ministerial regulation. There are two qualifications of teachers: teacher qualification through formal education and qualification of teachers through diligence and equality on which it is described by the academic qualification required to be appointed as a teacher in special fields that are indispensable but not yet developed at universities can be obtained through feasibility and equality. Feasibility and equality for someone who has the expertise without diplomas are conducted by universities that are authorized to carry it out.

3) Standards of competence

In the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 14 of 2005 on teachers and lecturers Chapter 1 Article 1, paragraph (10) General provisions say, competence is a set of knowledge, skills, and behaviors that must be owned, lived, and controlled by the teacher professionalism in carrying out the task. The teacher is a professional educator with a primary task of educating, teaching, guiding, directing, train, assess and evaluate students on early childhood education, formal education, primary education and secondary education. So, teacher competence can be defined as the mastery of knowledge, skills, values and attitudes are reflected in the habit of thinking and acting in practicing a profession as a teacher.

4) Certification System for Educators

Teacher certification aims to:

(1)          Determine the feasibility of carrying out duties as a teacher in the learning agent and realize the goal of national education

(2)          Improvement of the process and the quality of educational outcomes,

Certification increases the professionalism of teachers. Benefits of certification can be detailed as follows:           

–  First, to protect the profession of teacher practices incompetent that can damage the image of the teaching profession.

–  Second, to protect the public from practices that is not qualified educational and professional.

–  Third, maintain institutions educators’ education providers (LPTK) of internal desires and external pressures that deviate from the provisions in force.

The Implementation of teacher certification is done with the objective principle, transparent, and accountable. Objective means the process of acquiring the teaching certificate as impartial, non-discriminatory, and national educational standards. Transparent is referring to the certification process that provides opportunities for education stakeholders to gain access to information about management education, which as a system includes input, process, and results of certification. Accountable is a certification process accountable to the stakeholders in the education administrative, financial, and academic.

Implementation of upgrading professional skills of teachers, either through an increase in qualification and certification program, will be carried out continuously. In 2007, there were more than 170,000 teachers who were given scholarships to an increase equivalent qualification S1/D4.

5) Coaching Career Standard

Along with the implementation of the certification, a standard coaching career is drafted. The system must be in the form of a document which is passed in the form of legislation or at least the form of government regulations that must be carried out by officials of regional autonomy. For example, to become an instructor, or become the principal, or superintendent, an educator must have the required competency standards, and must go through the process of achieving that has been standard. This career development standards will be implemented by settling if it meets the prerequisites, among others if the system certification of teachers and has been running smoothly. In addition, this third step will run smoothly if the employee promotion system based on certification already running.

6) Preparation of Prospective Teachers

Teachers are aligned with the standards of competence, and more emphasis on the practice. Government through the Minister of Education has launched a new regulation as outlined in the Ministerial Regulation No. 27 Year 2010 on Teacher Induction Program for Beginners. These regulations became official legal umbrella organization of Teacher Induction Program for Beginners in Indonesia. This regulation is composed of 14 chapters, in which among other things about: objectives, principles and technical implementation Induction Program implementation in general.

Sudrajat (2010) stated the presence of this induction program seems to further reinforce the commitment of the government to organize the teaching profession, because at this time the teacher has been believed to be the main hopes to improve the quality of education in Indonesia.

7) Education Training (Diklat)

There are several ways to improve the quality of such teachers, schools and education authorities provide and conduct education and training for teachers who do not meet the standards as a teacher or a professional educator. In this way the teacher is expected to be able to obtain sufficient knowledge to become a professional teacher.

8) Empowerment professional development organizations such as the KKG, MGMP, MKKS, and MKPS

Efforts to improve the competence of teachers and other personnel must be planned and programmed with a clear system. A large number of educators in this country need to be treated synergistically by all the institutions associated with education preserve, in-service training, and on the job training, among others:

(1)   synergistic activities to improve the quality of teachers and should involve teacher professional development organizations, such as the Working Group on Teacher (KKG), Subject Teachers Council (MGMP), Working Group Principal (MKSS), and the Working Group Supervisors School (MKPS). Of course including PGRI, organizations struggle teachers.

(2)   Increased academic qualifications (PKA) Teacher based KKG, where this program is an academic qualification S1, PGSD for elementary school teachers, uses distance education system which was held at Teachers Working Group appointed by the College.

The government efforts to improve the quality and role of teachers

Law No. 22 of 1999 on local government and the PP 25 of 2000 on the authority of the government and the provincial authority as autonomous regions, Law No.25 of 2000 on Propenas, and Kepmemdiknas No. 122/U/2001 on the Strategic Plan for Development of Education, Youth, and sport in 2000-2004, as well as the Education Law of 2003 provides a strong legal basis for the implementation of quality improvement of teachers and as an educational innovation to achieve a better quality of education personnel both in improving the quality of education. Improving the quality of education can not be removed by improving the quality of educators and power of education.

Law Teachers and Lecturers (UUGD) has been established and has become a policy to realize that professional teachers and establishes qualification and certification as an important part in determining the quality and interest of teachers. Earnest efforts need to be undertaken to achieve a professional teacher, prosperous and competent. This is a necessary condition for creating the system and practice of quality education as a prerequisite for realizing the prosperity and progress of the nation of Indonesia.

According to Rohiyatussakinah (20013), efforts to develop educators and education personnel will be as good as implement several programs, namely: (1) Improvement of Teacher Salary and welfare (2) qualification standards (3) Standards of competence and improvement efforts (4) System certification for educators (5) standard coaching career (6) Preparation of prospective teachers and are aligned with the standards of competence, and more emphasis on the practice and the theory strong (7) Education Training (Diklat) (8) Empowerment professional development organizations such as the KKG, MGMP, MKKS, and MKPS, which need to be empowered.

1)             Improvement of Teacher’s Salary and Welfare

Mohammad Surya, the Chairman of the Board of PGRI, insisted that all success of education reform agenda is ultimately determined by teachers. Rights as a private teacher, the teaching profession stakeholders, community members and citizens which have been neglected, should be a priority in the reform. The main rights of educators should get the attention of government policy is the right to earn income and well-being with a decent wage, not a minimum wage. The policy of “minimum wage” may have led to employee mentality porters, not employed by the pursuit of achievement. That is why; it is the first step to improve the quality of teachers and is providing the welfare of teachers with a decent salary for life

2)             Qualification standards

National Education Minister Regulation No. 16 of 2007 discusses the standard of qualifications and competence of teachers which states that all teachers are required to meet the standards of academic quality and competence of teachers who apply nationally, also that teachers who do not meet the qualification of diploma four (D-IV) or scholar will be governed by a separate ministerial regulation. There are two qualifications of teachers: teacher qualification through formal education and qualification of teachers through diligence and equality on which it is described by the academic qualification required to be appointed as a teacher in special fields that are indispensable but not yet developed at universities can be obtained through feasibility and equality. Feasibility and equality for someone who has the expertise without diplomas are conducted by universities that are authorized to carry it out.

3) Standards of competence

In the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 14 of 2005 on teachers and lecturers Chapter 1 Article 1, paragraph (10) General provisions say, competence is a set of knowledge, skills, and behaviors that must be owned, lived, and controlled by the teacher professionalism in carrying out the task. The teacher is a professional educator with a primary task of educating, teaching, guiding, directing, train, assess and evaluate students on early childhood education, formal education, primary education and secondary education. So, teacher competence can be defined as the mastery of knowledge, skills, values and attitudes are reflected in the habit of thinking and acting in practicing a profession as a teacher.

4) Certification System for Educators

Teacher certification aims to:

(1)          Determine the feasibility of carrying out duties as a teacher in the learning agent and realize the goal of national education

(2)          Improvement of the process and the quality of educational outcomes,

Certification increases the professionalism of teachers. Benefits of certification can be detailed as follows:           

–  First, to protect the profession of teacher practices incompetent that can damage the image of the teaching profession.

–  Second, to protect the public from practices that is not qualified educational and professional.

–  Third, maintain institutions educators’ education providers (LPTK) of internal desires and external pressures that deviate from the provisions in force.

The Implementation of teacher certification is done with the objective principle, transparent, and accountable. Objective means the process of acquiring the teaching certificate as impartial, non-discriminatory, and national educational standards. Transparent is referring to the certification process that provides opportunities for education stakeholders to gain access to information about management education, which as a system includes input, process, and results of certification. Accountable is a certification process accountable to the stakeholders in the education administrative, financial, and academic.

Implementation of upgrading professional skills of teachers, either through an increase in qualification and certification program, will be carried out continuously. In 2007, there were more than 170,000 teachers who were given scholarships to an increase equivalent qualification S1/D4.

5) Coaching Career Standard

Along with the implementation of the certification, a standard coaching career is drafted. The system must be in the form of a document which is passed in the form of legislation or at least the form of government regulations that must be carried out by officials of regional autonomy. For example, to become an instructor, or become the principal, or superintendent, an educator must have the required competency standards, and must go through the process of achieving that has been standard. This career development standards will be implemented by settling if it meets the prerequisites, among others if the system certification of teachers and has been running smoothly. In addition, this third step will run smoothly if the employee promotion system based on certification already running.

6) Preparation of Prospective Teachers

Teachers are aligned with the standards of competence, and more emphasis on the practice. Government through the Minister of Education has launched a new regulation as outlined in the Ministerial Regulation No. 27 Year 2010 on Teacher Induction Program for Beginners. These regulations became official legal umbrella organization of Teacher Induction Program for Beginners in Indonesia. This regulation is composed of 14 chapters, in which among other things about: objectives, principles and technical implementation Induction Program implementation in general.

Sudrajat (2010) stated the presence of this induction program seems to further reinforce the commitment of the government to organize the teaching profession, because at this time the teacher has been believed to be the main hopes to improve the quality of education in Indonesia.

7) Education Training (Diklat)

There are several ways to improve the quality of such teachers, schools and education authorities provide and conduct education and training for teachers who do not meet the standards as a teacher or a professional educator. In this way the teacher is expected to be able to obtain sufficient knowledge to become a professional teacher.

8) Empowerment professional development organizations such as the KKG, MGMP, MKKS, and MKPS

Efforts to improve the competence of teachers and other personnel must be planned and programmed with a clear system. A large number of educators in this country need to be treated synergistically by all the institutions associated with education preserve, in-service training, and on the job training, among others:

(1)   synergistic activities to improve the quality of teachers and should involve teacher professional development organizations, such as the Working Group on Teacher (KKG), Subject Teachers Council (MGMP), Working Group Principal (MKSS), and the Working Group Supervisors School (MKPS). Of course including PGRI, organizations struggle teachers.

(2)   Increased academic qualifications (PKA) Teacher based KKG, where this program is an academic qualification S1, PGSD for elementary school teachers, uses distance education system which was held at Teachers Working Group appointed by the College.