Teachers Are Present, but Unequally Distributed: Teacher Allocation and Educational Justice in the Mentawai Islands

Abstract

Equal access to qualified teachers is fundamental to educational justice, yet teacher distribution remains highly uneven across geographically fragmented regions. This study examines teacher allocation in primary schools across the Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra, focusing on the gap between formal teacher availability and equitable access to qualified teaching personnel. The research investigates how geographical isolation, employment status, school size, transportation barriers, and professional incentives influence the distribution of teachers across island communities. A qualitative case study methodology is employed through policy analysis and interviews with teachers, school leaders, local education officials, and community representatives. The study adopts a distributive justice perspective to assess whether teacher resources are allocated according to educational need rather than administrative convenience. It argues that aggregate teacher-student ratios can conceal significant intra-regional inequalities, particularly when teachers are concentrated in relatively accessible settlements while remote schools face persistent shortages. The findings are expected to demonstrate that teacher equity requires differentiated allocation formulas that account for geographic difficulty, school remoteness, and instructional workload. The study recommends combining targeted recruitment, special allowances, housing support, transportation assistance, and professional development with stronger local monitoring mechanisms to ensure that teacher distribution contributes to substantive equality in educational opportunity.