Jakarta – The Indonesian Federation of Teachers' Associations (FSGI) has accused the National Education Ministry of stalling on the disbursement of teachers' certification allowances as many teachers are still awaiting their payments.

"We have evaluated the distribution of teachers' certification allowances," FSGI general-secretary Retno Listyarti told reporters at Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) headquarters on Tuesday.

She said that the federation suspected related government agencies had benefited from the interest on the funds sitting in the bank, which were meant to be disbursed to teachers, and also from money where some teachers' allowances were cut.

"We have received reports from teachers all across the country saying that their allowances were not fully paid, or other teachers have received their allowances in error. The ministry must take responsibility for the matter and report it to the ICW in order to help further our investigations," she said.

According to a ministerial decree, local governments are authorized to manage and disburse allowances for certified teachers every semester. Before the issuance of the decree, teachers' certification allowances were transferred directly to teachers' bank accounts every three months.