Education Minister Dr Aishath Ali has revealed that the pay structure of teachers have been amended and forwarded to the Pay Commission.
Speaking at the Parliament on Wednesday, Minister Aishath Ali said teachers work between 9-12 hours on average, and that their remunerations are not adequate for their work.
"Teachers do not get any time to spend with their families. They face countless pressures ever single day. Their responsibility is not just limited to teaching, they are also required undertake a lot of administrative responsibilities", said the minister.
Noting that the number of students who wish to pursue a career in teaching is declining year by year, Minister Aishath Ali stressed the need for a more attractive salary package to combat recruitment and retention challenges within the teaching profession.
The minister noted the government's efforts to increase interest of youth, acknowledging that the public recently do not view the teaching field as a desirable or a respected field despite the hard work done by teachers. Teachers are not compensated even close to what they deserve for their work, said the minister. The government is working to decrease the number of hours teachers have to put in, and to build a better working environment, assured the minister.
It is a presidential pledge of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to bring positive changes to the pay structure of teachers. Minister said the pledge will be fulfilled, and the new salary structure will take effect next tear.
The government proposed a budget of MVR 8.6 billion to the education sector for the year 2020 from a total budget of 37.5 billion.
The minister said the budget is still inadequate to fulfill all goals for the sector, and appealed to the parliament to increase the budget allocated for the Education sector if the wished.
Education Minister Dr Aishath Ali at the Parliament
