The Ministry of Religious Affairs in Indonesia (Kemenag) together with the Committee for the COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery Communication Team (KPCPEN) and the Indonesian Ministry of Finance have launched wage subsidies for non-civil servant educators and educational personnel (Bantuan Subsidi Upah Pendidik dan Tenaga Kependidikan Non-PNS, or BSU PTK non-PNS) under the Kemenag's domain. This programme is part of government support for PTK Non-PNS during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This news was disclosed by Dr Muhammad Zain, S.Ag., M.Ag, Director for Madrasah Educators and Educational Personnel of the Directorate General of Islamic Education at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, at a dialogue titled Wage Subsidy for Non-Civil Servant Educators and Educational Personnel Teaching Religious Education School Subjects at the KPCPEN Media Center on 19 November.
"As many as 84% of the teachers in the Kemenag domain are working on short-term contracts (honorer). Meanwhile, teachers with civil servant status amount to only 126,000 people. So, the BSU PTK Non-PNS programme is very beneficial for educators and education personnel within the Ministry of Religious Affairs domain. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on madrasah teachers. Moreover, many madrasah are operating under non-profit foundations. There are even some religious education teachers that are only paid Rp300,000 per month," explained Dr Muhammad Zain. Those interested in the programme can check the Educators and Educational Personnel Services Information System (SIMPATIKA) for eligibility criteria. They must have a national identification number (NIK); a bank account; do not currently benefit from BSU Tenaga Kerja, the Manpower Ministry's workers wage subsidy programme; are not recipients of Kartu Prakerja, a pre-employment card programme; and earn less than Rp5 million with non-civil servant status. Facilities to help open a bank account for those who do not have one will be provided.
BSU Non-PNS PTK recipients in the Religious Affairs ministry domain consist of kindergarten (raudhatul athfal)/madrasah teachers, Islamic religion education teachers in public schools, Catholic religion education teachers, Buddhist religion education teachers and Confucian religion education teachers. Each recipient will receive a lump sum of Rp1.8 million, and there are some 637,048 beneficiaries. The full budget is more than Rp1.15 trillion.
According to Dr Muhammad Zain, aid recipients will be vetted rigorously. "So, the validation process is not one-dimensional because we also involve the BPJS (social security provider). We've conducted an internal review through the Kemenag's Inspectorate General. The data validation process is carried out on multiple levels. This way, we are able to prevent duplicate data or channelling aid to the wrong people.
"On the bureaucratic side, we have collaborated with regional offices of the Ministry of Religious Affairs to monitor schools in their working areas. All data validation processes must be tiered. Hopefully the implementation will run smoothly and that things of concern will not happen," he said.
In addition, he said that there will be no reduction in aid value when it reaches each beneficiary. "We hope that each beneficiary will receive Rp 1.8 million in full, not deducted by income tax. You see, the programme is a government aid programme. On the other hand, the government also carries out strict supervision over the process of the aid distribution. In fact, the KPK (Corruption Eradication Commission) also supervises the process," he said.
"To fellow teachers and honorer education personnel, let's continue to be optimistic. We must continue to carry out our duties professionally because our role determines the future of the nation. Even though we are experiencing hardships, education must continue as the pulse of the nation's civilisation. We must always adhere to health protocols by implementing 3M (wear masks, handwashing, and maintaining a safe distance). Hopefully the BSU PTK Non-PNS in the Religious Affairs ministry domain will be useful to increase the resiliency of our teachers too," he concluded.
A similar programme has benefited PTK Non-PNS under the Ministry of Education and Culture.
As the handling of COVID-19 and the national economy recovery should be closely aligned, Indonesian President Joko Widodo issued Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 82 of 2020 on the Covid-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery Committee (KPCPEN) on July 20 2020.
The KPCPEN's priorities are INDONESIA SEHAT - people should be safe from COVID-19, with health services reform as part of the equation; INDONESIA BEKERJA, empowerment and acceleration of employment; and INDONESIA TUMBUH, national economy recovery and transformation.