Ministry of Social Affairs to Recruit 5,000 People's School Teachers This Year

Indonesia's Ministry of Social Affairs is set to recruit 5,000 new teachers and educational staff for its "Sekolah Rakyat" (People's School) program this year. Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf announced the initiative, aimed at filling a significant gap in educators across the program's various locations.

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This year we are opening opportunities again for teacher recruitment, more than 5,000 teachers and educational staff we are opening opportunities for those who meet the requirements.

Currently, the shortage of teachers at Sekolah Rakyat sites is being managed by reassigning existing staff. The program serves approximately 15,000 students from elementary to high school levels during the 2025/2026 academic year. Minister Yusuf stated that the ministry is continuously working to improve the program's implementation, especially with projections for an increase in student enrollment for the 2026/2027 academic year.

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We continue to strengthen human resources so that with a much larger number of students, the needs for teachers and other human resources can be met.

"We continue to strengthen human resources so that with a much larger number of students, the needs for teachers and other human resources can be met," said Yusuf, who also holds the position of General Secretary of PBNU.

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The teachers who resigned chose to leave because their placement was too far away. However, we have prepared replacements from prospective teachers who are undergoing professional education.

Earlier in the program's rollout, hundreds of teachers resigned, primarily due to distant placement locations. To address this, the ministry has prepared replacements from candidates undergoing professional teacher education. However, the issue of teacher resignations has raised concerns about the program's effectiveness. Policy observers like Yanuar Nugroho from Nalar Institute have criticized the central government's rigid administrative system for ignoring social realities, leading to mismatches between educational needs and teacher availability. Koordinator Nasional Jaringan Pemantau Pendidikan Indonesia (JPPI), Ubaid Matraji, advocates for greater involvement of local governments in teacher placement to better align with regional geographical and socio-economic conditions.

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Placement by the administrative system without considering the domicile or mobility capacity of the teachers causes a mismatch between educational needs in the region and the personal readiness of the teachers.