Dapodik Holding Teachers Hostage: Teacher Professional Allowance Gone, The State Absent
By:
_Masduki Duryat_
(_Deputy Chair of the Indramayu Regency Education Council_)
In a country fond of glorifying teachers through slogans, there is an irony that is barely audible: certified teachers are losing their Teacher Professional Allowance (TPG) not because they stopped teaching, but because they were “reclassified” as not teachers. Not in the classroom, not by the school principal, but by a system called Dapodik.
In an instant, their status shifts from teacher to education personnel (_tendik_), and with it, their right to the Teacher Professional Allowance disappears.
This is not just an administrative error, this is a silent scandal that systemically strips away rights.
When the State Is Defeated by Data
In the design of modern education policy, data has become the ultimate determinant. Dapodik is no longer just a database, but has transformed into a “single instrument of legitimacy.” Who is recognized as a teacher, who is entitled to TPG, is all determined by this system.
In reality, however, teachers are still teaching, fulfilling their workload, and performing their professional duties. Yet when the data is not synchronized, reality loses to administration.
The state has surrendered its authority to a system, and that system is now failing to recognize the very subjects it is supposed to protect.
Part-Time PPPK: A Solution That Creates New Problems
The part-time Government Employees with Work Agreements (PPPK) policy, regulated in the latest regulation (PermenPANRB No. 9 of 2026), was intended to solve the problem of non-civil servant staff. But in implementation, this policy has instead created new problems.
Many teachers appointed through this scheme have been “thrown” into the education personnel category. This is a classic policy trap a policy that is conceptually good, but fails in operationalization.
The state wants to resolve the honorary teacher issue, but creates new injustices for professional teachers.
Normatively, TPG is granted to teachers who meet professional requirements, verified through an integrated system between Dapodik and SIM-TUN (Center for Education Financing Services). But in the field, this verification has turned into a mechanism of exclusion. When Dapodik records a status as _tendik_, the system automatically rejects the right to TPG, without considering the actual work in the classroom.
This is where the epistemological problem lies: the system trusts data more than social fact. Teachers become victims of a “digital truth” that is not always true.
Losses That Are Not Just Financial
The loss of TPG is not merely an economic issue, even though for many teachers this allowance is a pillar of their livelihood. More than that, it is a denial of professionalism.
A teaching certificate obtained through a long process suddenly becomes meaningless. Even teachers who have not yet attended Teacher Professional Education (PPG) are threatened with losing access because they are considered not teachers. This is a form of deprofessionalization happening quietly, but with systemic impact.
This case exposes the fragmented face of our education bureaucracy. Personnel policy runs on its own, the data system runs on its own, and regional implementation proceeds without coordination.
As a result, teachers become victims of what is called, silo bureaucracy, bureaucracy that works in separate compartments. The state is present in the form of regulations, but absent in policy integration. Yet in modern governance, system integration is the key to administrative justice.
A Looming Crisis of Trust
If left unchecked, this problem will lead to a crisis of trust. Teachers who have fulfilled their obligations but do not receive their rights will question the legitimacy of the state.
How can the state demand professionalism, yet fail to provide recognition? In the long run, this can damage the morale of the teaching profession.
We are not losing teachers physically, but we are losing their spirit and their trust.
This phenomenon also cannot be separated from a larger issue: governance and fiscal capacity. In many regions, the financing scheme for part-time PPPK still relies on limited funding sources, previously even drawn from education operational funds.
In this context, the Dapodik problem may not just be a technical error, but part of a symptom of the system’s unpreparedness to bear the burden of new policies. In other words, there is a possibility that this administrative chaos is intertwined with fiscal pressures that are not openly acknowledged.
Solution: Return the State to Teachers
First, a national audit of Dapodik is needed to ensure no teacher is misclassified.
Second, there must be affirmative regulations guaranteeing that certified teachers cannot be categorized as _tendik_ under any circumstances.
Third, there must be a fast and uncomplicated correction mechanism.
Fourth, integration between the personnel system and the education system must become a national priority, not just a technical project.
Closing: Do Not Let Teachers Be Defeated by the System
This case is a grim reflection of our education system: when a system created to help ends up holding people hostage.
The state must not submit to system errors. Teachers must not lose to data. If this continues, then we are building education on a fragile foundation, where justice can disappear because of a single incorrect data entry.
And when that happens, what collapses is not just teachers’ rights, but the dignity of the state itself.**
Indramayu, August 4, 2026
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