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At its national Seminar of the Go Public! Fund Education campaign, the Teachers' Association of the Republic of Indonesia (PGRI, from its Indonesian acronym) rallied hundreds of educators and international allies to demand the government fulfill its constitutional promise of quality education for all. Union leaders and international organizations called for urgent action: restore education budgets, empower teachers, and make public education the foundation of Indonesia’s future.

This seminar held on December 10th, 2025, in the Indonesian capital city Jakarta was attended by more than 200 PGRI leaders and members in person, with hundreds joining online from all over Indonesia. Key guests were Prof. Dr. Atip Latipulhayat, Deputy Minister for Primary and Secondary Education of the Republic of Indonesia, who represented the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Abdul Mu’ti, as well as Ms. Simrin Singh, Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Country Office for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, Mr. Gunawan Zakki, National Professional Officer-Education at the UNESCO Office of Jakarta, Dr. Jamaluddin, Head of the Education Office of the Indonesian Banten Province. Representatives of other Education International (EI) member organizations – the Australian Education Union, the Japan Teachers’ Union, the Swedish Teachers’ Union and the Union of Education Norway - were also present.

Indonesia’s educational system: Challenges, and hope

In her remarks, Prof. Dr. Unifah Rosyidi, PGRI President and member of the EI Executive Board, stated that the participants’ attendance to the event “reflects our shared commitment to championing quality education for every child in Indonesia.” She reaffirmed that “quality education for all is not merely an aspiration. It is a constitutional right of every child in Indonesia.”

She also reported that her union is mobilizing donations to support teachers and students affected by recent natural disasters striking various regions of Indonesia. “Solidarity is at the heart of PGRI’s struggle, and we believe that together we can help ease their burden.”

“Indonesia is among the few countries that boldly committed 20% of the national budget to education. This policy did not emerge on its own—PGRI safeguarded it through a long process, including judicial reviews at the Constitutional Court, where we consistently won to ensure that the right to education is constitutionally protected,” she said.

The challenge now remains to ensure the full 20% is allocated to the Ministry of Education for the direct benefit of students’ learning rather than being allocated to other ministries too.

Commitment to Go Public! Fund Education global campaign

At the global level, EI has demonstrated a strong commitment to advocating for funding for quality education for all. She went on noting that the Go Public! campaign “emphasizes one important truth: Education is not only the responsibility of teachers or schools—it is the responsibility of a nation’s future.”

PGRI urged the government and all development partners to ensure sufficient teachers across Indonesia and quality learning for all children, in all regions, without exception. “Because when teachers are present, respected, and empowered, Indonesia’s future stands on a strong foundation,” the PGRI leader emphasized.

Education International (EI) Asia-Pacific Director, Anand Singh underlined: “The causes of the teacher shortage crisis have been well researched and documented by the United Nations High-Level Panel (UNHLP) on the Teaching Profession. Its report and recommendations, supported by the ILO and UNESCO, are clear: The shortage has been caused by inadequate investment in teachers. Education International will stand shoulder to shoulder with PGRI, supporting it in the struggle to build a well-resourced public education system that values teachers.”

For Go Public! Fund Education Campaign Manager, Angelo Gavrielatos, “we do not have a crisis in education; we have a crisis in government policies which have brought us the global teacher shortage. We often hear governments talk about teachers fulfilling their responsibilities. It is well past time governments fulfilled their obligation to properly and adequately invest in teachers and public education.”

ILO’s Simrin Singh also insisted that “the ILO will continue to work in partnership with EI and UNESCO to ensure teachers enjoy the respect and rights they deserve.”

The UN recommendations on the Teaching Profession were handed to Indonesia’ Deputy Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, Prof. Dr. Atip Latipulhayat, with a request that the Indonesian Government urgently implements them.

PGRI had already organized on April 25th, 2024, a Go Public! Fund Education national seminar together key stakeholders in the Indonesian education sector and calling on the Indonesian government to commit to allocating at least 20 per cent of national, provincial, and district budgets directly to public education.

Regionwide, the Indonesian union had also met on March 7th, 2025, with EI affiliates from Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines in Bangkok, Thailand, to discuss and plan the next stage of the Go Public! Fund Education campaign in their countries and the region.