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Adec hikes teachers’ pay to woo Emiratis towards education sector

The new pay scale will see salaries increase between 25-35 per cent on average among the Emirati female employees.

This will bring their salaries at par with their male counterparts.The number of Emiratis enrolling into education-related programmes is continually declining in the past years. From 737 in 2007-2008, this dwindled down to 210 in 2010-2011.

“Teaching is not an attractive profession to Emiratis as seen by the fast dropping enrolment numbers,” said Dr Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec), noting that this could pose a high risk in the loss of national identity for the future generation.

Citing an example, Dr Al Khaili said that out of the 1,040 names of potential national candidates submitted by the Abu Dhabi Tawteen Council for interview, only “a very limited number of candidates showed interest in education professions and responded positively to Adec”.

In a survey carried out by Adec, education staff cited uncompetitive pay compared to other sectors in Abu Dhabi, inconsistent pay scale and benefits for males and females in similar positions, lack of prestige of the teaching profession and lack of transparency in the career ladder, were among the primary reasons.

New pay and benefit scale

In an effort to attract Emiratis into the education sector, Adec has announced on Tuesday the new salary structure and benefits for the public school employees across the emirate.

The new pay scale will see salaries increase between 25-35 per cent on average among the Emirati female employees, making them on the same level as their male counterparts. The adjusted salaries will be received on January 1, 2014, and will cover September onwards, when the new structure took effect.

The new pay structure will include the basic salary, supplementary allowance and benefits (retirement/end of service benefits, leave/holiday, health coverage, others). The male nationals will have similar structure in addition to the Shaikh Khalifa allowance and children allowance.

According to Adec, about 47 per cent of teachers at public schools are Emiratis, and around 400 of these are men.

Salama Al Amimi, executive director of Organisational Development and Excellence Office at Adec, said that the new salary structure comes in line with requirements of the new organisational structure. The plan will also help retain administrative performance, create new jobs and update the duties and roles of other basic jobs.

According to the new organisational structure, school leadership will comprise a principal, a vice-principal for administrative affairs and a vice-principal for academic affairs, a new position created.

olivia@khaleejtimes.com