Jakarta. Indonesia is grappling with a growing number of part-time teachers facing financial hardship, with calls for government intervention to address their plight.

Satriwan Salim, coordinator of the National Association of Education and Teachers, highlighted on Thursday the challenges faced by hundreds of thousands of part-time teachers who struggle to maintain a decent standard of living. Many are burdened with debt and forced to take on multiple jobs to make ends meet.

Despite a significant shortage of teachers in state schools nationwide, the government's hiring of full-time teachers remains limited. Satriwan noted that while 700,000 new teachers will be hired as civil servants, an additional 600,000 are still needed.

"We urge the incoming government, under Mr. Prabowo [Subianto], to prioritize the hiring of more state teachers," Satriwan said.

While some teachers have been employed as contract workers under the government's PPPK program, these opportunities often target recent graduates rather than addressing the long-standing needs of part-time teachers. Satriwan pointed out that contract teachers are sometimes deployed to state schools at the expense of part-time teachers, leading to terminations for the latter, particularly in regions like West Java.

"The termination of part-time teachers upon the arrival of PPPK teachers is a widespread issue," Satriwan stated.