President Prabowo: Education Key to National Awakening

President Prabowo Subianto delivers remarks at the Peak Event of the 2024 National Teachers’ Day in Velodrome Rawamangun, Jakarta, Thursday (11/28). (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/Kris)

Education is key to Indonesia’s national awakening, President Prabowo Subianto said in his remarks at the Peak Event of the 2024 National Teachers’ Day in Velodrome Rawamangun, Jakarta, on Thursday (11/28).

“We must rise up. Otherwise, we will remain a country with many people still living below poverty line. We will eradicate poverty through education. That’s why, when I received the mandate from the people of Indonesia, my focus and the focus of my team—which eventually became the cabinet that I lead—our primary focus is education,” he said.

According to President Prabowo, although most major countries in the world focus on the defense sector, Indonesia puts education as its top priority, with the largest portion of the state budget allocated for the education sector.

“We received a mandate from the people. We, the Red and White Coalition and I, now hold the responsibility of the Government. We put education first in our State Budget. In fact, I suppose this is the first time in Indonesian history. The allocation for education in the 2025 State Budget is the highest ever in the history of the Republic of Indonesia,” he said.

The President also reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to increasing teachers’ wellbeing, adding that the Government will provide additional benefits, namely a bonus worth one month’s base salary for teachers with state civil apparatus (ASN) status and an increased professional allowance to Rp2 million per month for non-ASN teachers.

“In 2025, as many as 1,932,666 teachers will be certified educators. The number of certified teachers will increase by 64.4 percent or 650 teachers from 2024. The budget for the wellbeing of ASN and non-ASN teachers will rise to Rp81.6 trillion in 2025. It is a Rp16.7 trillion-increment for teachers’ wellbeing,” he said.

Furthermore, the President pointed out that in order to enhance teachers’ wellbeing and quality, the Government is set to carry out Teachers Professional Education (PPG) program in 2025 for 806,486 ASN and non-ASN teachers with a Bachelor’s degree and its equivalent, a D4 degree.

Meanwhile, the President added that 249,623 teachers who have not obtained the degree will be provided educational assistance gradually in 2025 to continue their education.

“The Government is also discussing a measure to improve the wellbeing of non-ASN teachers who have not received a certification with a cash transfer assistance, whose amount and number of recipients will be announced in 2025,” he said.

Additionally, President Prabowo stated that to enhance educational quality and ensure educational equality, the Government has allocated Rp17.15 trillion for the rehabilitation, repair, and renovation of 10,440 public and private schools and the amount is set to be directly transferred to the schools.

“Schools will carry out self-management, so the assistance amount can be used more optimally. Regions, villages, and districts can purchase materials from their own regions and have mutual cooperation. The amount can be more useful, and the benefits can be better felt by students, teachers, and local residents,” he remarked. (TGH/ABD) (DH/MUR)