Agus Maryono, Purbalingga – Around 1,000 state-school teachers in Purbalingga, Central Java, have protested against a cut in their certification allowance, to which they are entitled in full, by the local education agency.

One of the teachers said the allowance was equal to a month's salary, but each teacher had been asked for a cut of between Rp 150,000 (US$13) and Rp 250,000 by the education agency.

"The allowance is handed out every three months. This is the second time we've received it, so it's relatively new," said Prasetyo, a teacher at a state-run junior high school in Kaligondang district.

The 40-year-old said the education agency had deducted Rp 150,000 from elementary school teachers' allowances and Rp 250,000 from those of junior and senior high school teachers.

"They say it's for administrative fees... which is a classic excuse," Prasetyo told The Jakarta Post. He added the cuts were made indirectly.

"They don't demand it directly, but only after the teachers receive the allowance. The payments are collected by the respective group leader at the district level, who then hands it to the official at the regency education agency," he said.

The education ministry, he went on, transferred the allowance to the bank accounts of the respective teachers. "After the funds have been transferred, the coordinator then collects (the cut)," he said.

Prasetyo also said around 1,000 teachers in the regency received the allowance. Of these, 70 percent were elementary school teachers and the rest junior and senior high school ones.

"Not all state-school teachers receive a certification allowance; only those who have met the requirements do," he said. He added among the requirements were adequate work experience and credits from achievements while serving as a teacher.

However, Edy Suryanto, head of the manpower division at the Purbalingga Education Agency, denied ever making any cuts. "It's not true. We have never asked for any cuts. It's absolutely not true," Edy told the Post on Friday.

He added the allowance was paid directly to the recipients, thus making it unlikely his office could cut them.