The education sector is one of the important industries that creates a huge impact on the overall development of every country. One of the countries whose education industry is not in a great position is Indonesia.
In Indonesia, there’s a huge crisis of shortage of quality and capable teachers and the top of that they’re facing one of the pressing issues is that those few teachers who are capable in their field are also retiring as well. All these issues make a huge dent in the global education ranking of Indonesia.
According to theaseanpost.com , 2019 survey the global education ranking was 88, which is very low.
Image Source: theaseanpost.com
However, the good news is that the Ministry of Education is focusing on this ongoing teacher shortage crisis and they’re actively taking impactful steps to improve the situation of the education sector.
In this blog post, we will be exploring the cause of teacher shortage, the implications of national education development, and what necessary steps are required to achieve sustainable development of education in Indonesia.
After-Effects of Teacher’s Shortage
Recently, it was discovered that Indonesia is facing a severe shortage of teachers. It has been found that almost 781 thousand teachers’ shortage is there within the education sector of Indonesia which is quite shocking. And it heavily impacts educational quality and the availability of quality teachers. The Ministry of Education is investigating the causes of this shortage and looking for effective solutions.
Now, we will get to know about some of the causes that create the teacher shortage situation in Indonesia.
Causes of Teacher Shortage in Indonesia
1. Experienced & Capable Teacher is Retiring
One of the biggest reasons for the teacher shortage in Indonesia is that many capable and experienced teachers are getting retired. Whenever teachers retire from any institute, they leave big gaps in the education system which results in a smaller number of qualified and capable teaching professionals.
2. Uneven Distribution of Schools
Another major issue is that schools are not spread out evenly across Indonesia. Many local areas don’t have enough junior high schools. Some places also don’t have enough high schools and it becomes a huge problem for the overall quality of the education system in Indonesia.
Less number of educational institutions is making the situation worse because the insufficient number of education institutes will limit the number of accommodating students and quality teachers which will ultimately hamper the overall quality of education in Indonesia.
3. Low Quality of Education and Competency of Teachers
Indonesia’s education quality has been an issue for quite some time, due to varied skill levels among teachers. These differences in teaching expertise impact the overall education quality and can limit students’ learning results.
Additionally, a reliable, consistent way to measure learning results for students is currently non-existent, and it’s much needed to improve the quality of education. The Ministry of Education is aiming to enhance education quality by recruiting skilled teachers globally, who have completed courses like teacher training in Indonesia. This valuable step will certainly enhance Indonesia’s education quality.
4. Lack of Competitiveness in Universities Institute
One of the biggest causes of teacher shortage is the lack of competitiveness of university institutes. Indonesian institutes are lagging in areas like publications, innovations, and citations compared to other countries.
To hire and retain top teaching talent, Indonesia’s Ministry of Education must need to raise the bar of competitiveness of their university institute, because the teacher is the only entity that can help in the advancement of the education industry.
Steps to Overcome the Shortage of Teacher Crisis
1. Addressing Pressing Issues in National Education Development
For a progressive and lasting education setup, the Ministry of Education must resolve all the strategic issues related to National Educational Development. Problems like unequal sharing of educational services, and enhancing teachers’ skills and quality must be tackled effectively. At the same time, Indonesia’s Ministry of Education also needs to start using better methods to assess learning results.
2. Increase Collaboration and Competitiveness Rate In the Education Industry
As we are living in a digital era, the way of education has also become digitalized. The introduction of digitalization in the education sector makes education easier and it also makes the plethora of education-related information available for both teachers and students digitally.
The digitalization of education brings convenience but at the same time, it makes it challenging for the teachers as well. Indonesia’s Ministry of Education needs to make sure that they foster digital literacy in every teacher so that they can adopt it in their teaching method.
3. Broaden’s Teacher’s Perspective
To bring the transformation in the education industry, the Indonesia Ministry of Education must help not just prospective teachers but also existing teachers to broaden their teaching perspective and knowledge.
If every teacher has broadened their knowledge of the education industry, they can play a crucial role in the advancement of a country and the achievement of sustainable development goals as well.
4. Opening Multiple State Civil Apparatus Positions (ASN) for Teachers
Indonesia’s Ministry of Education is taking active steps by providing multiple State Workers (ASN) jobs for those teachers who have contract-based teachers (P3K) to combat the crisis of shortage of quality teachers. Indonesia’s Ministry of Education plan is to let skilled teachers jump in and fill the gap of teachers who are retiring which will ultimately make the education quality of education stronger.
Indonesia Can Overcome the Shortage of Quality Teacher Crisis
One of the biggest crises that Indonesia is facing in the education industry is shortage of quality teachers. To combat this, Indonesia’s Ministry of Education must need to the root cause of it and implement all the above-mentioned strategies to overcome the shortage of teachers will definitely help come out of the crisis.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Education also needs to hire quality teachers who have pursued courses like teacher training in Indonesia and teacher training institute in Indonesia around the world and from within Indonesia.
Wishing Indonesia for a brighter future in the education sector.
