Indonesia is rich in natural resources, but that does not automatically translate into strong teacher welfare or high-quality education.

This gap is common in resource-rich developing countries. Below is a clear, structured explanation of why Indonesia’s teacher welfare and education outcomes lag, broken into root causes.

how low the welfare of teachers and students

1. Natural resource wealth ≠ education investment

Indonesia’s economy relies heavily on extractive sectors (oil, gas, coal, minerals, palm oil). These industries generate revenue, but:

a. Resource revenues fluctuate

Prices for coal, oil, nickel, etc. change drastically.

Governments hesitate to commit long-term expenses like high teacher salaries when income is unstable.

b. “Resource curse” dynamics

Countries rich in natural resources often:

invest less in human capital (education, health)
depend on resource exports instead of building high-skilled industries
experience corruption and rent-seeking in extraction sectors

This creates a structural bias away from education spending.

2. Decentralization created massive disparities

Since 2001, Indonesia decentralized education funding to districts.

Effects:

Rich regions (e.g., Jakarta, Bali, some mining regions) can pay teachers well.
Poor regions (NTT, Papua, many rural districts) struggle with salaries, allowances, and school infrastructure.
Teacher hiring and promotion became fragmented; quality control is uneven.

This results in extreme inequality—Indonesia’s education quality depends heavily on where a child lives.

3. Huge number of teachers + teacher status problem

Indonesia has one of the largest teacher workforces in the world (4+ million including honorer/contract teachers).

Large workforce = high salary cost.

Problems:

For decades, many teachers were honorer (contract teachers) paid far below minimum wage.
Certification (tunjangan profesi) improved welfare for civil servants, not for contract teachers.
PPPK reforms are trying to fix this, but the cost is massive.

4. Budget absorbed by salaries, not quality

Indonesia allocates 20% of the state budget to education (mandated by the constitution).

But:

~70–80% of that budget goes to salaries, not improvements.

This leaves little for:

teacher training
facilities
technology
curriculum development
school maintenance

Many OECD and East Asian countries (Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam) spend proportionally more on quality, not just personnel.

5. Weak teacher training & qualification systems

Education systems with strong outcomes (Finland, Singapore, South Korea) have:

✔ rigorous teacher university programs

✔ competitive selection

✔ long-term training

✔ high social status

Indonesia faces the opposite:

Many teacher education programs have low admission standards.
Teaching is sometimes a “last choice” profession.
Limited mentoring and professional development for teachers already in the field.
Certification allowances were granted without guaranteed skill improvement.

This affects both welfare and learning outcomes.

6. Political priorities favor infrastructure over education

Governments often prioritize visible, fast-return investments:

roads
airports
tollways
mining
energy

Education yields long-term results (10–20 years), so it often receives less political attention even though spending is high.

7. Corruption and inefficiency in education governance

Issues include:

Leakages in education budgets
Inflated procurement (books, school construction)
Allowance disbursement delays
Local political interference in teacher hiring

These reduce the impact of the money that is spent.

8. Socioeconomic inequality reduces education outcomes

Regions with:

high poverty
remote geography
weak infrastructure

struggle to attract and retain high-quality teachers.

Urban–rural and west–east disparities are still extreme.

9. Curriculum instability and reform fatigue

Indonesia has had:

Kurikulum 1994
KBK
KTSP
Kurikulum 2013
Merdeka Belajar

Frequent changes without adequate teacher preparation lead to:

confusion
inconsistent teaching
shallow implementation

10. Natural resource revenue is not fully captured

Even though Indonesia is resource rich:

Coal, nickel, and palm oil sectors still have loopholes and untaxed profits.
Illegal mining/logging reduces state revenue.
Local governments often lack capacity to manage extraction revenues efficiently.

So the country’s “wealth” does not fully become public wealth.

The Short Answer

Indonesia’s teacher welfare and education quality remain low because:

Natural resource wealth alone does not guarantee high investment in human resources. Structural issues—decentralization, massive teacher workforce, governance problems, weak training systems, inequality, and political priorities—prevent resource wealth from becoming educational strength.

Sumber:

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