Salary disparities for teachers to be addressed soon -President Ali promises

The Government intends to move to correct the salary disparities which exist among some categories of the nation’s teachers, according to President Irfaan Ali.

While he did not touch specifically on the subject of salary increases for teachers, the President said the government is pushing to ensure that there is equality in the system.

The issue of disparities of pay for some teachers has been an issue of concern for the Guyana Teachers Union for a number of years.

Speaking during the Commissioning of the new Abram Zuil Secondary school on the Essequibo Coast yesterday, the President said the government will be hitting the ground soon to have the salary disparity issue addressed.
“We are going to go all across the country to speak to teachers directly. We are considering now looking from when we came into office from 2020 to ensure that within that period all of our teachers are on a standard basic wage that is to avoid the disparity that exist and we are going to correct that from 2020 to now as we are in office,” the President said.

Additionally, the President said government is now considering further incentives for teachers who developed themselves, noting that many teachers are now becoming specialists in several areas. He said the government has to now ensure that there is incremental value as teacher develops themselves

“So, we are now looking at how we can develop a system that pays attention to the incremental educational advancement of our teachers and also to ensure that we incentivize that development that is another aspect of the equation to support teachers that cabinet considered and it is for us to ensure that we move towards implementation,” the President said.

The President promised continued investment in the education sector, as the government seeks to create a more diverse and robust system to benefit students who prefer technical and vocational education.