|
17th May, 2008
MELAKA: With today being Teachers Day, members of the profession can look to better days ahead as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi himself announced a slew incentives for them here yesterday.
He said in line with the government’s call to non-graduate teachers to pursue degree programmes as part of their self-development, the government had agreed to consider the service during their non-graduate period to be upgraded from grade DG41 to DG44 on a time-based formula whereby each three years of service as a non-graduate teacher would be considered as a year’s experience in DG41, subject to a maximum of three years (in DG 41).
“This is an added incentive to the pay rise that was given by the government earlier,” he said when opening this year’s national-level Teachers Day celebration at Dewan Seri Negeri, Ayer Keroh, here.
The announcement received thunderous applause from the 3,000-odd teachers present.
Also present were Abdullah’s wife Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah, Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam.
The Prime Minister also announced that based on the same consideration, the government had also approved a proposal whereby non-graduate teachers in the DG41 grade holding headmasters posts will be made eligible to be promoted to DG44 after having served for three years (as headmasters in DG41). After increasing the quota for the Excellent Teachers Scheme by 300 per cent in 2006 so that more teachers could enjoy the benefit, Abdullah said the government today agreed to more improvements to it.
Firstly, he said the service requirement for emplacement into the scheme would be reduced from the seven years at present to five years.
Secondly, officers promoted as excellent teachers in a particular grade can be considered for promotion to the next grade without having to wait to complete three full years of service in the grade they were in.
Another incentive he announced was improving the Excellent Headmasters Scheme. In order for more non-graduate teachers to enjoy the scheme, the government has decided to set aside 10 per cent of the quota for the scheme for senior assistants and teachers serving with the Education Ministry and state and district education departments on the condition that they must have shown exemplary service.
Abdullah also said the government had decided to upgrade district education officers from Grade DG48 to DG52 and DG54 and streamline district education offices nationwide by abolishing the joint education offices in Sabah and Sarawak.
He said the government had also agreed to reintroduce the critical allowance for graduate teachers training officers (vocational) and post-diploma teachers training officers (vocational), backdated to January 2008.
The Prime Minister said the government had also agreed to the restructuring of the Education Ministry, last done in 1995.
The initial stage would involve increasing posts and upgrading of staff in the higher management group from Grades 54 to Jusa A (top management group).
“As an example, all deputy education directors posts now will be uniformly graded as Jusa A insead of Jusa A, B, C and DG 54 as previously,” he said.
Former deputy director-general of education, Datuk Rashidi Ramlan, 61, former Perak Education Department deputy director 2, Datuk Dzulkarnain Abd Rahman, 69, and former teachers Abu Bakar Shawkat Ali, 63, and K.Krishnasamy, 68, received this year’s teaching personalities award. – Bernama
|
