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Salaries of teachers, counsellors and other MOE officers being reviewed: Chan Chun Sing

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Salaries of teachers, counsellors and other officers on Ministry of Education (MOE) schemes are currently under review, said Education Minister Chan Chun Sing on Tuesday (July 5).

In a written parliamentary reply, Mr Chan said the MOE is working with the Public Service Division on this review.

The last two salary reviews for teachers were in October 2015 and September 2012.

In 2012, teachers and allied educators received a pay rise of between 5 and 15 per cent. Classroom teachers got an 8 per cent raise, which was meant to keep pace with the market, MOE said at that time.

The 2015 review led to a 4 per cent to 9 per cent increase for teachers.

He was responding to a question from Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) on whether his ministry would consider giving greater pay incentives to school counsellors across primary, secondary and tertiary institutions to attract sufficient counsellors of the highest quality and ensure low student-to-counsellor ratios.

Mr Chan added that MOE and the institutes of higher learning periodically review salaries of staff to ensure pay packages remain competitive.

Adjustments are also made, where necessary, to keep pace with the market, he added.

Said Mr Chan: "Besides competitive remuneration, counsellors are provided opportunities for professional development and growth, which is important for staff attraction and retention.

"MOE supports counsellors in honing their counselling competencies through courses and regular clinical supervision and consultation sessions with their clinical supervisor."

He did not elaborate on when the review would be completed, or by how much salaries would be adjusted.

In June, the Government said 23,000 civil servants will get a pay rise of between 5 per cent and 14 per cent from Aug 1 this year.

It said at the time that these adjustments would not apply to civil servants in specialised schemes, such as accountants, police officers, teachers and foreign service officers.

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