Give them the Teachers' Day off they deserve
28 Aug 2012
TEACHERS' Day was traditionally celebrated on Sept 1 annually which was a scheduled school holiday.
If the day fell on a weekend, school was closed the following Monday. Celebrations in school were usually held on Aug 31.
But since last year, the Education Ministry made Teachers' Day the first Friday of September instead. The ministry website states that the change was part of the nationwide aim to promote family life by allowing a longer weekend for teachers.
With the new rule, Teachers' Day this year falls on Sept 7, which coincides with the short mid-term school break from Sept 1 to Sept 9.
The change has deprived teachers of their scheduled day off for Teachers' Day as there is no replacement day off.
While the ministry's intention for making the switch is well-intended, would having Teachers' Day fall on the last Friday of the third school term be a more viable option?
The ministry's objective will be met, while avoiding the situation of having Teachers' Day coincide with the third-term holidays.
If the ministry prefers to stick to the current arrangement, it is only fair to declare the following Monday after the one-week break a scheduled rest day for teachers.
I am a parent of two school-going children and I appreciate the efforts and sacrifices of our teachers in educating and nurturing our children.
Let us not rob our teachers of their day of rest.
Gracia Tham (Ms)
To Cheers...
Teachers to get pay increase of up to 8% from 1 September
31 Aug 2012
It would be a Teacher’s Day gift from the Ministry of Education.
To keep pace with market trends and commensurate with their roles and responsibilities, more than 26,000 teachers and some 500 Allied Educators will receive a pay rise starting this month, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced yesterday, a week ahead of Teachers' Day.
Teachers, excluding those newly or recently appointed, will receive an 8 per cent gross monthly salary increase of between S$550 and S$830 depending on job grade. Allied Educators will see a 5 to 15 per cent rise in their salary, which works out to an increase of up to S$700 in their monthly pay.
Teachers' salaries were last reviewed in April 2008, and this is the first salary revision for Allied Educators since the introduction of the Allied Educator Scheme in 2009.
In response to TODAY's queries, an MOE spokesperson said educators who have reached the maximum salary tier will still receive the salary adjustment.
Newly-appointed teachers, however, were already appointed on higher starting salaries, which took effect last month, while recently-appointed teachers have also received starting salary adjustments.
Senior Education Officers in the superscale grade will not receive an 8 per cent adjustment as the MOE will review their salaries separately, added the spokesperson. Excluded as well are specific groups of officers, such as officers on special contract terms or moribund schemes.
In a post on the MOE's Facebook page, Education Minister Heng Swee Keat wrote that he is "pleased" the ministry is making salary adjustments "in recognition" of the contributions made by teachers and Allied Educators.
Heartened by testimonies of how teachers have made a difference in students' lives, he said: "It is challenging to be in the frontline, day-in, day-out, especially if our teachers also have young children or other family members to take care of.
"But to our teachers, take heart that your hard work and devotion is well appreciated by all of us, especially at MOE."
Educators TODAY spoke to welcomed the salary increase but felt more could be done to help teachers with their workload.
Ngee Ann Secondary School principal Adrian Lim pointed out that work processes can be better streamlined so that teachers will have more time to communicate with parents and their students.
"We need to streamline our work, to work smart, to use ICT to help us, such as leveraging on technology to replace attendance taking, or to communicate with parents," he said.
A secondary school teacher, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, suggested having more assistance with administrative work so they can focus on teaching.
"For example, if a teacher has no prior experience or talent for a co-curricular activity (CCA), and his role is administrative, perhaps this workload can be passed on to somebody who is purely in charge of the administrative aspects of a CCA," she said.
What a practical affirming move by MOE!
However I believe that as long as we have passion of teaching, there is still something inside our heart that can make us revive and survive.
No comments:
Post a Comment