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MOE educators to get 5 to 10 per cent raise from 1 October

About 35,000 education officers, 1,600 allied educators, and 800 preschool teachers in MOE-run kindergartens will receive the pay increments. (Reuters, Yahoo News Singapore file photos)
About 35,000 education officers, 1,600 allied educators, and 800 preschool teachers in MOE-run kindergartens will receive the pay increments. (Reuters, Yahoo News Singapore file photos)

SINGAPORE — From 1 October, some 37,400 Ministry of Education (MOE) teachers, allied educators and kindergarten teachers will receive a five to 10 per cent increase in their monthly salaries.

The ministry said in a press release on Tuesday (16 August) that about 35,000 education officers, 1,600 allied educators – such as school counsellors and student welfare officers – as well as 800 preschool teachers in MOE-run kindergartens will receive the pay increments.

This will ensure that the staff members' overall salary packages remain competitive, and so that it can continue to attract and retain good educators, MOE added.

Salaries for education officers and allied educators were last reviewed in 2015, while the scheme for pre-school teachers in MOE-run kindergartens was introduced in 2019.

New substantive grade from 2023

MOE said it will also create a new general education officer (GEO) 5A substantive grade from 2023, to better recognise the contributions of good-performing teachers in this grade who do not hold key personnel appointments such as subject head or senior teacher.

Currently, those who do not hold key personnel appointments and who would typically continue as classroom teachers can progress up to the GEO 5 substantive grade, while those who hold key personnel appointments can be promoted to the Senior Education Officer (SEO) substantive grades.

From 2023, those at the maximum salary point of GEO 5 substantive grade who meet the performance criteria for promotion can progress to GEO 5A and benefit from a higher salary ceiling, which will be between that of the GEO 5 and SEO 1 substantive grades.

Enhancing CONNECT Plan

MOE will also enhance CONNECT Plan, the 30-year retention plan for education officers, by about 20 per cent from next year.

Under the current plan, a flat rate quantum between $3,200 and $8,320 is set aside for officers each year, depending on their length of service. Payouts comprising a proportion of the money accumulated are given every three to five years of their career.

Starting from 2023, the annual deposit quantum and payout ratio will be raised to better support officers in the earlier years of their career, said MOE.

In a separate joint statement, the Singapore Teachers', Singapore Chinese Teachers’, Singapore Malay Teachers’, and Singapore Tamil Teachers’ unions said they welcomed the announcement of the salary increments, especially for teachers who have faced a lot of stresses and challenges during the onset of the pandemic when their workload increased tremendously.

The four public sector teachers’ unions thanked MOE for taking their feedback into consideration for the creation of the GEO5A grade, as it ensures that teachers continue to be appreciated and rewarded, especially for those who have reached their salary ceiling.

They also described the enhanced CONNECT Plan as "another move in the right direction to retain teachers".

"We hope that more can be done to look into how to better support teachers as well in attaining work-life harmony," the four unions added.

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