Petitioner Sri Hartono at the preliminary hearing for the judicial review of Law Law No. 14 of 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers, Tuesday (6/24/2025). Photo by MKRI/Panji.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) held the preliminary hearing for the judicial review of Law No. 14 of 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers for case No. 99/PUU-XXIII/2025 on Tuesday, June 24, 2025 in the panel courtroom. The petition was filed by Sri Hartono, a certified civil-servant teacher, who challenges the retirement age for teachers at 60 years of age.

The Petitioner, who appeared virtually at the hearing, argued that the regulation stipulating a lower retirement age for teachers compared to lecturers contradicts the principle of meritocracy in civil service (ASN) policy. “The provision establishing different retirement ages for teachers and lecturers does not reflect the principle of meritocracy,” he said.

He further emphasized that such disparity not only creates injustice but also fosters social tension between the teaching and academic professions. According to him, mandatory retirement at the age of 60 has had a direct and tangible impact on him, both administratively and psychologically.

He also highlighted the fact that Indonesia is currently facing a shortage of educators, as reported by the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology. Therefore, enforcing retirement for experienced teachers at 60 years of age is seen as counterproductive to the Government’s efforts to strengthen the quality of human resources in the education sector.

For these reasons, Sri Hartono requested that the Constitutional Court declare the provision regulating the retirement age for teachers in the Teacher and Lecturer Law unconstitutional and not legally binding unless interpreted to mean that the retirement age for teachers should be equal to that of lecturers at 65 years.

In response to the petition, Constitutional Justice Enny Nurbaningsih advised the Petitioner to revise the petition following the standard format detailed in the Constitutional Court Regulation/PMK No. 2 of 2021.

“There are many things to revise, as it is [your] first time [filing a petition] and you have not read PMK No. 2 of 2021. The Constitutional Court decisions granting the petitions can be referred to in drafting a good petition,” she said.

She also highlighted the inconsistent writing of the articles being petitioned. “The subject is a judicial review petition, so the articles must be clear. You have not mentioned the articles consistently,” she added.

While adjourning the session, the panel announced that the Petitioner would have 14 days to revise the petition, which must be submitted by Monday, July 7 at 12:00 WIB.

Author         : Utami Argawati
Editor          : N. Rosi
PR               : Raisa Ayuditha Marsaulina
Translator     : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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