Constitutional Court Rejects Salaries Of Private Campus Lecturers Paid By State And Regional Budget

Constitutional Court Rejects Salaries Of Private Campus Lecturers Paid By State And Regional Budget

Saturday, 30 Nov 2024

The Constitutional Court has rejected the request for a judicial review concerning the basic salaries and allowances for lecturers and educational staff, including those from private universities, to be funded by the State Budget (APBN) and/or the Regional Budget (APBD). "The ruling states that we reject the applicants' request in its entirety," announced the Chief Justice while reading the decision of Case Number 135/PUU-XXI/2023 in the Plenary Session Room of the Constitutional Court in Jakarta on Saturday, November 30, 2024.

The judicial review was filed by Teguh Satya Bhakti, a lecturer at the Faculty of Law of Universitas Krisna Dwipayana, and Fahri Bachmid, a lecturer at the Faculty of Law of Universitas Muslim Indonesia. The applicants challenged the constitutionality of Article 70, paragraph (3) of Law Number 12 of 2012 concerning Higher Education, which states: "The organizing body referred to in paragraph (2) is required to provide basic salaries and allowances to lecturers and educational staff in accordance with the provisions of the legislation."

The applicants argued that the phrase "in accordance with the provisions of the legislation" in the contested article creates legal uncertainty, as it does not clearly specify the types of regulations intended.

Furthermore, the applicants contended that Article 70, paragraph (3) of Law 12/2012 does not guarantee that the provision of basic salaries and allowances by the organizing body to lecturers and educational staff can be fulfilled adequately and optimally. Consequently, in their petition, the applicants requested the Constitutional Court to amend the article to read: "The organizing body referred to in paragraph (2) is required to provide basic salaries and allowances to lecturers and educational staff funded by the APBN and/or APBD."

In relation to the claims made by the petitioners, the Constitutional Court clarified that Article 31, paragraph (4) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia mandates the government to allocate at least 20 percent of the state budget (APBN) and regional budgets (APBD) for education. Although this minimum allocation should primarily prioritize basic education, the government, in practice, also allocates funds for higher education.

For public universities (PTN), the allocated budget is utilized for operational costs, salaries of lecturers and educational staff, as well as for investment and development. In contrast, for private universities (PTS), the budget allocation is directed towards providing professional allowances for lecturers, honorarium for professors, and also for investment and development. This is stipulated in Article 89 of Law No. 12/2012. "Based on the aforementioned points, it is evident that the budget allocation for PTS is also utilized for professional allowances for lecturers and honorarium for professors. Furthermore, the government has assigned lecturers with civil servant status to certain PTS," stated Constitutional Judge M. Guntur Hamzah while reading the legal considerations of the Constitutional Court.

Additionally, Article 49, paragraph (2) of Law No. 20 of 2003 concerning the National Education System essentially states that the salaries of lecturers appointed by the government are allocated within the state budget (APBN). For lecturers at private universities (PTS) appointed by the organizing body of the PTS, their salaries and allowances are determined based on the employment agreement between the lecturer and the organizing body, which is subject to applicable laws, including those related to labor.

On the other hand, after a thorough examination of the provisions of Article 70 of Law No. 12/2012, the Constitutional Court (MK) stated that the phrase "in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations" is intended to refer to norms within the legal framework, specifically Law No. 12/2012, Law No. 20/2003, and labor laws.

"Thus, the basic salary and allowances paid to lecturers by private educational institutions (PTS) are encompassed within the meaning intended by the phrase 'in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations,' as argued by the petitioners," said Guntur. Consequently, the MK concluded that the claims made by the petitioners were not legally justified in their entirety. (srirahayu@insightinnews.com)

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