President announces changes to salary structure for education sector employees

“Teachers have been paid far less than they deserve for their work.”

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announced that teachers’ salaries have been increased.

In a video message to share the joy of the salary increase with the education sector, the president expressed the hope that it will be a positive change brought to the cadre, including principals, teachers and other employees of the education sector. Salaries have more than doubled under the new framework.

Employees in the education sector have been paid low wages for many years compared to their hard work. This concern was expressed in various ways.

The President noted the hard work of the education sector in building a good generation, which is one of the goals of the government. He also said he believes this work is not done for the sole purpose of earning a salary.

“With the grace of Allah, this promise [Increasing teacher’s salaries] is accomplished today. It gives me great pleasure to announce today the change in teacher salaries on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr and Labor Day,” the President said.

“Teaching is a noble profession that is often devalued. However, I hope that teachers will accept the changes to the salary framework for employees in the education sector within the limits of the powers of the government.

Salary increase

-Salary of directors-

Rank 1: from MVR 16,000 to MVR 30,000. (82% increase)

Rank 2: from MVR 20,000 to MVR 33,000. (59% increase)

Rank 3: from MVR 12,000 to MVR 20,000. (38% increase)

-Salary of Assistant Directors-

Rank 1: from MVR 13,000 to MVR 23,000. (78% increase)

Rank 2: from MVR 21,000 to MVR 26,000. (55% increase)

-Teacher salary (out of 6,185 teachers)-

Rank 1: from MVR 10,000 to MVR 13,000. (22% increase)

Rank 2: from MVR 13,000 to MVR 19,000. (50% increase)

Rank 3: from MVR 15,000 to MVR 20,000. (37% increase)

MVR 488 million will be spent from the state budget for education sector salaries.

The President said that increasing the capacity of the state in each country depends on the efficiency of its human resources. Teachers bear the biggest burden of human resource development in the Maldives, he said.

“However, teachers carrying out this important responsibility have been paid far less than they deserve for their work,” the president said.

The president said the changes to teachers’ salaries are an important change in nation building. He said the most important aim of today’s change in teachers’ salaries was to provide a decent take-home pay without including overtime.

“With this change, only salaries and allowances far exceed the previous net salary, including overtime. The new salary structure for teachers will guide the way forward in the teaching profession,” the president said.

The biggest challenge facing the Maldivian education sector is the lack of quality teachers in island schools. He also said the new framework would be an added incentive to work on the islands.

The president said research on teachers shows that the only problem teachers face is not meager salaries. In addition, problems such as lack of time and resources, increased workload and uncertainty about the protection of their rights were also discovered. Efforts are underway to address these issues, he said.

“I hope that the positive results of these measures will soon be visible. I hope that these positive changes in the education sector in the Maldives will increase the number of people interested in developing the sector,” said the President.