ARTICLE 49 PARAGRAPH (1) OF THE LAW ON NATIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEM IS DEEMED HARMFUL FOR SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY TEACHERS

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia conducted a judicial review on Law Number 20 of 2003 concerning National Education System, especially Article 49 Paragraph (1) of the Law, and Law Number 18 of 2006 concerning State Budget for the Fiscal Year 2007, especially the provisions on education budget. The petitioners in this case are Dra. Hj. Rahmatiah Abbas, a school teacher, and Prof. DR. Badryah Rivai, S.H., a university teacher. Both of the petitioners were unable to be present in the hearing and were represented by their attorneys, Hj. Elsa Syarief, H.M. Ali Abbas, Syamsul Huda, Suniati, and Fenty Yuliana, who read out the petition before the Panel of Constitutional Justices.

In their petition, the petitioners told the Constitutional Court that Article 49 paragraph (1) of Law Number 20 of 2003 on National Education System which reads: Education costs, other than salaries for teachers and costs for official education, shall be allocated at the minimum 20% of the State Revenues and Expenditures Budget in the education sector and at the minimum 20% of Regional Revenues and Expenditures Budget, is contradictory to the 1945 Constitution and therefore does not binding legal force.

The petitioners also appealed for the Constitutional Court’s decision stipulating that Law Number 18 of 2006 concerning the State Budget of the Fiscal Year 2007, especially its provisions which are related to Article 49 paragraph (1), or the provision excluding teachers’ salaries from the education budget amounting to 20% of the State/regional Budget, is contradictory to the 1945 Constitution and does not have binding legal force.

The Panel of Constitutional Justices gave an advice to the petitioners to clarify their constitutional losses caused by the Law on National Education System, especially Article 49 Paragraph (1), and to include an explanation in their petition as to the articles of the 1945 Constitution which are deemed contradictory to the law. The Panel of Constitutional Justices also told the petitioners to provide explanations as to education costs and education budget and whether or not they have similar definitions and amounts.

The session was adjourned at 10.45 West Indonesia Time and the petitioners were given a period of 14 days for revising their petition (Vien)