4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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The chronology for implementation of the main activities includes the following:
• Workshop for dissemination of the ministerial decree between five ministries (Ministry of Education and Culture, Ministry of Religion, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry for Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform, and Ministry of Finance) with attendance from local government, schools, community and mass media.
• Based on the initiative from a number of NGOs and professional associations of teachers with approval from the local government, a multi-stakeholder forum called the Communication Forum for Education Promotion (Forum Komunikasi Peduli Pendidikan or FKPP) was formed.
• Monthly discussions held by the MSF in the media centre café and the Teras Adira coffee shop
• Collection and verification of teacher distribution data
• Calculation and analysis of teacher distribution data
• Drafting of district head regulation on teacher distribution, based on problem analysis
• District officials conducted a study tour to Purworejo in Central Java on Dec 3 – 7, 2011 to learn from its success in proportional teacher distribution.
• Public consultation on draft district head regulation
• Hearing on draft district head regulation with the district legislative council
• Formation of the Implementation Procedures Team for the district head regulation
• Dissemination of the district head regulation and the implementing procedures conducted in-person and through radio
• Formation of the Implementation Team
• Monitoring and evaluation of teacher distribution regulations and procedures through the MSF, in cooperation with citizen journalists
As the chronology above suggests, the strategy for introducing and successfully implementing teacher distribution incorporated the following elements:
1. Strengthening of civil society organizations
The local government of Luwu Utara strengthened civil society organizations by involving them in analysis, planning, and monitoring and evaluation. In addition, the local government and civil society organizations collaborated during the democracy café dialogues and were referenced jointly in print media.
2. Formation and strengthening of a multi-stakeholder forum (MSF)
The local government also recognized and supported the Forum for the Promotion of Education in Luwu Utara, which involved community members, village development workers, education council members, and journalists. This forum conducted an advocacy campaign specifically on the teacher distribution policy.
3. Formation of a technical team within the local government to address the issue
The Luwu Utara administration set up a technical team involving several departments and working units, including the department of education, local development planning agency, government training center, department of revenue, department of regional finance and asset management, legal bureau, organizational management department, and the Forum for the Promotion of Education in Luwu Utara to compile, analyze, and verify teacher distribution data, and to draft the district head regulation and the accompanying implementing guidelines. After the technical team finished the draft regulation and implementing guidelines, District Head Regulation No.28/2012 on Proportional Teacher Distribution was issued.
4. Policy advocacy by the technical team
The Luwu Utara department of education disseminated the District Head Regulation on Proportional Teacher Distribution in cooperation with the multi-stakeholder forum through discussions in coffee shops, articles in online media (www.luwuraya.com and www.kompasiana.com), and regional and local newspapers (Palopo Pos, Upeks, Seputar Indonesia, Tribun Timur), in addition to the live discussions and interactive format of the “Good Morning” program on local radio station Adira FM.
5. Monitoring and evaluation of policy implementation by the MSF
Following the issuance of the new teacher distribution decree (No.821.29/31/BKDD) on 31 October 2013, the multi-stakeholder forum and citizen journalist monitored whether the 128 teachers selected for reassignment had in fact moved to their new schools, which was a significant breakthrough. The multi-stakeholder forum plans to conduct a satisfaction survey, involving teachers who were redistributed, the original schools, their new schools, students, and parents.
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5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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There were a number of key stakeholders involved in the implementation of the initiative from local government, community, and mass media. A comprehensive list is included below:
Local government:
• District Head and Vice-District Head
• District Council/Parliament
• District Secretary
• District Education Office
• District Planning Agency
• District Human Resources and Training Agency
• Head of Legal Bureau
• Head of Organizational Management Department
• Head of Public Relations
• Technical Implementation Unit from the District Education Office
The local government officials who comprised the technical team that drafted the district head regulation and implementing guidelines for proportional teacher distribution were also responsible for collecting, analyzing, and verifying the data used to calculate the teacher redistribution needs.
Community members:
• Professional Teachers Associations: National Teachers Association (PGRI) and the Indonesian Teachers Association (IGI)
• Education Council
• NGOs: Forum Lingkar Masyarakat Luwu Utara (FAKTA), Lembaga Pemerhati Masyarakat (L-PERAK)
The aforementioned groups participated in the Forum for the Promotion of Education in Luwu Utara (FKPP), which was involved in the initiative from the preliminary planning stages all the way through to monitoring and evaluation.
Mass Media:
• Palopo Pos (local print newspaper)
• Ujungpandang Express (local print newspaper)
• Semangat Pagi (local radio station)
• Radio Adira (local radio station)
• Jurnal Celebes (online media site)
Community members and local government officials actively participated in dissemination and promotion activities such as interactive dialogues at the democracy café, live radio shows on Adira radio stations, and in print media.
Citizen Journalists (community members from across the district)
• Citizen journalists documented their reactions to efforts made by the local government to address teacher absenteeism. Local government public relations officers Melki and Aldi as well as Hasra Abbas, a journalist from luwuraya.com, were particularly interested in promoting articles from citizen journalists.
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6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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The main source of funding for this initiative came from the local government with contributions of time and labor from community members through the multi-stakeholder forum and mass media.
Government contributions were mobilized by the district head, whereas civil society mobilized out of concern for a common issue.
Technical assistance for the initiative was supported by funds from the local government budget, community contributions.
During the implementation of the initiative, Luwu Utara allocated funds in the amount of IDR 148 million ($14,800) in 2012 and IDR 160 million ($16,000) in 2013 which were disbursed to the district education office and planning agency for outreach and awareness activities on the new policy. In addition, the local government also provided IDR 24 million ($2,400) to Fakta to gather input on the initiative through a series of public discussions. It also provided the Indonesian Teachers Association IDR 110 million ($11,000) to support teachers’ professional development.
Once the regulation was issued and the implementing guidelines finalized, the government allocated IDR 35 million ($3,000) within its education budget to pay for teacher relocation. The district administration also set aside IDR 600 million ($60,000) to build new houses as an incentive for teachers reassigned to remote areas. In addition, the local government provides a monthly incentive in the amount of IDR 500,000 ($50) for the teachers in the remote areas.
To assure the sustainability of the initiative, Luwu Utara awarded a contract worth of IDR 18 million ($1,800) to local NGO Lembaga Pelatihan dan Konsultasi Inovasi Pendidikan (LPKIPI) to train the staff of the district education office on data collection, verification and analysis. In addition, the government will fund community group FAKTA in the amount of IDR 50 million ($5,000) to conduct a satisfaction survey among reassigned teachers.
Due to the cost efficiency of this initiative it is replicable again in Luwu Utara as needed, in other districts in South Sulawesi, and throughout the country.
The local government commitment through human resources, technical resources, and financial resources led to effective implementation in a short period of time and succeeded where other initiatives failed.
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7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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Five concrete outputs that contributed to the success of the initiative can be summarized as follows:
1. District Head Regulation No. 28/2012 on Proportional Teacher Distribution
2. Implementing Procedures for Proportional Teacher Distribution
3. District Head Decree on Teacher Placement
4. Formation of Technical Team and Implementation team by local government
5. Formation of Multi-Stakeholder Forum
Within a relatively short period of time, as many as 128 teachers were redistributed to schools with a shortage of qualified teachers, due to the active involvement of both local government and community members.
The district head regulation served as an immediate mandate and government order to proportionally distribute teachers. The implementing guidelines served as a reference for the technical implementation of this mandate/order. The process for redistribution was codified in the Department of Education Head Decree No.47/2012. After the department of education head decree was issued, an additional decree was issued by the district head to fund the implementation team to oversee the implementation of the regulation throughout all sub-districts in Luwu Utara. In conjunction with the oversight responsibilities of the local government, the MSF also conducted monitoring and evaluation activities and cooperated with citizen journalists to document the process of redistribution and the changes in teacher absenteeism as a result of the initiative. The recommendations were submitted to the local government to complete its evaluation of the initiative.
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8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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Monitoring efforts will focus on the 128 teachers identified for redistribution. Special attention will be given to those teachers who have been identified for relocation to new sub district according to the stipulations in the decree on the redistribution of teachers No. 821.29/31/31/BKDD on 31 October 2013.
To monitor the progress and constraints of teacher distribution, the local government established an internal monitoring mechanism involving the local development planning agency and technical units of the district education office. Together, this joint team conducts quarterly evaluations through interviews with the staff of the technical offices, focusing on financial aspects of the initiative’s implementation. In addition, the technical office also conducted internal evaluation to assess the progress of the initiative.
In addition to formal mechanisms, the deputy district head also responded personally to complaints she received during the implementation of the initiative. Using her authority, the deputy district head summoned the heads of the education technical offices to provide clarification and to address the issues immediately.
As part of a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation effort, the multi-stakeholder forum is planning to conduct interviews with teachers that were redistributed and invitations to the public to participate in regularly scheduled dialogue.
The MSF and citizen journalists will monitor the local government implementation of proportional teacher distribution initiative in accordance with the district head regulation and implementing guidelines.The MSF is also planning to conduct a satisfaction survey of teachers that relocated, their schools of origins, the schools that received new teachers, students, and parents to assess the perceived benefits of the implementation of these beneficiaries.
The recommendations from this survey will be shared with the government of Luwu Utara as part of its ongoing evaluation of the initiative.
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9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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This ambitious initiative required the dedication and commitment of a number of stakeholders to implement policies that had previously stalled. During the implementation process there were a number of challenges faced, such as:
• Objections from teachers that were scheduled for redistribution due to their understanding that the redistribution was a form of punishment
• Inconsistencies in the data collection and availability of data in various locations that complicated the problem analysis
• Poor policy advocacy skills of civil society organizations
The stakeholders involved in the initiative addressed and resolved these issues in the following ways:
• Intense explanation and dialogue about the value, meaning, and importance of teacher distribution to improve public services with the public as a whole
• Intensive explanation and dialogue with teachers about the importance of the initiative for their career development and welfare
• Careful validation and verification of data collection from the schools by analysts
• Strengthening of CSO capacity through training and workshops on policy advocacy.
• Convince stakeholders, especially teachers, that they are an integral part of success in the education sector (basic education services)
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