Better deals for teachers

 

KUALA LUMPUR: The grade for primary school headmasters and senior assistants will be increased to the maximum DG54 and these long-serving personnel will not lose any seniority, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said the move would benefit 2,047 education service officers nationwide.

Under this move, headmasters on Grade DG48 (personal to holder) would no longer have to be “downgraded” to senior assistants or ordinary teachers in primary schools once they have been promoted to Grades DG52 and DG54 on a time-based excellence basis.

“This will upgrade the substantive grades for the posts of headmaster and senior assistant teacher, as well as enable those who have been promoted to a higher grade to remain in that position until Grade DG54,” he told a gathering of around 1,500 teachers organised by the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) here yesterday.

Ismail Sabri said teachers of a higher grade would also now be able to hold a higher position and certain positions in primary schools without being confined to the lower grades in the civil service pay scale.

“Headmasters at grade DG48 will not be ‘demoted’ to senior assistant teachers or regular teachers at primary schools when they are promoted to DG52 or DG54 on the time-based promotion scheme.

“Teachers at DG48 will be given the opportunity to be appointed assistant senior teachers in primary schools. Senior assistant teachers in primary schools will now not be confined to those in grade DG44 only.

“Senior assistant teachers who have had their pay scale raised to DG54 can now remain in that position,” he said, adding that 90.68% of primary school teachers were now on a graduate level in the civil service.

“The Education Ministry is currently studying the structure of staffing for headmasters and senior assistant teachers in primary schools through the proposal of ‘Model Schools’ to keep those teachers up to DG54 to ensure that the administrative positions in schools are always maintained to preserve the harmony of the school community,” he said.

At the event, NUTP president Aminuddin Awang said the special gathering of teachers was held to thank the Prime Minister for assisting the union to solve teachers’ problems.

“We have asked the Prime Minister to step in for us to resolve some of our long-standing problems.

“We want fewer of those duties that have nothing to do with teaching, which has led to many teachers retiring early.

“We ask that payments to invigilators and examination paper markers be sped up, to increase the allowance for replacement of leave, and for better deals for Model Schools that are still stuck at the Civil Service Department,” he added.

Teachers who attended the event also said they hoped more would be done for teachers, such as fixed allowances for buying stationery and digital devices, as one-off payments were not helpful at all.

“We tend to fork out our own money every month to buy stationery. Even RM100 a month will be very helpful.

“We sometimes have to beg outsiders for money to buy gadgets so that our students do not get left behind as everything is digital nowadays,” said a teacher from Subang. - Star