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In a bid to attract, motivate and retain its best, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has developed the GROW package to encourage a teacher’s professional and personal development.
Five years after Edu-Pac’s launch in 2001, education officers are presented with more avenues for professional and personal development with the GROW package, unveiled by Minister of Education, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, at the Teachers’ Mass Lecture on 4th September at the Singapore Expo, Hall 8.
• Growth - better schemes for the professional and personal growth of Education Officers;
Leaving for Professional Development - The enhanced Professional Development Leave (PDL) scheme provision will allow teachers with 12 years of experience to convert two months of half-pay leave to one month of full-pay leave, and enjoyed every 6th year thereafter. The maximum duration for the enhanced PDL is one term (10 weeks) and the minimum is one month.
Mrs Malaverzi Rajkumar from Montford Junior School particularly welcomes this improvement. She spent three weeks last May at the Overseas Family School and remains enthusiastic about the methods of communication between teacher and student. She explains, “I used to teach P5 and P6; when I was assigned a lower primary class, I wanted to see how I could relate and communicate with younger students. As Asians, we tend to be more authoritarian in our tone - when there’s respect and courtesy from both parties, difficult situations can be solved.”
Career Advice - Every school will have a School-based Staff Developer (SBSD) to ensure that training and professional development programmes are customised to teachers’ needs, while supporting the school’s goals. The Staff Developer will work with Senior Teachers and Heads of Departments to mentor and coach teachers in the area of teaching and career development.
Expenses Support - A New Learning & Development Scheme has been introduced – which allows teachers to claim up to $400 to $700 for any learning-related expenses, such as magazine subscriptions and journals, professional societies and IT accessories.
Teacher Development Centre - A hub for teacher development will be built to provide a venue for teachers to gather in learning circles, undertake action research, design curriculum and inspire new pedagogies. This centre will also bring together both local and overseas expertise. New teacher, Ms Khairunisak bte Hussain from Marsiling Secondary, welcomes this. She elaborates, “Personally I’m interested in how this Centre can help develop pedagogical matters and how it will be a social platform for teachers. There are learning circles in my school of course, but this is more of a national level and we would be able to integrate and learn how to deal with difficult problems or discipline situations.” |
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• Recognition
Rewarding Teachers – The total compensation for Education Officers will remain competitive, as a result of increases in the CONNECT Plan Deposit Quantum.
Teachers will receive a 30% increase in their annual CONNECT Plan contribution within their first 15 years of service and about 20% thereafter. Hence, a teacher who’s served for 15 years can expect a payout of $56,000 to $78,400 under the revised scheme.
Mrs Rajkumar is impressed by the benefits for senior teachers, being with the service for 21 years. “The CONNECT Plan, in particular, is very good news for long-serviing officers,” she acknowledges. Although Ms Khairunisak has just joined the service, she is enthusiastic about “the many paths that teachers are now offered. As a new teacher, I’m already motivated to stay in the profession!” she exclaims.
A Bigger Award – In 2001, the Outstanding Contribution Award (OCA) was introduced as a way to promote and recognise teamwork in schools. Instead of the current flat rate of $3000 per school, the quantum for each school will be calculated on the basis of its total staff strength. The quantum ranges from $3,000 to $10,000. Schools will still be required to set aside $1,000 for an individual award while the remaining sum may be distributed as team awards amongst the teams that have contributed the most to the school. |
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• Opportunities - more options in the teaching and leadership tracks, better career management advice;
Teaching Advancements - Teachers can look forward to more advancement opportunities, along both teaching and leadership tracks:
Taking on Expanded Roles - Senior teachers (STs) will have a broader role and schools can appoint STs in varied areas of expertise including school-based curriculum design, testing and assessment, staff development and counseling.
A Master Teacher Level 2 position will be created for exceptional teachers. This job level is equivalent to that of Vice-Principal and operates at zonal and national levels.
Upward Adjustments - Starting salaries for new teachers who have a Pass/Pass (Merit) Degree and Diploma, will increase by about 5-8% with immediate effect. Mid-career entrants will have their pay reviewed in recognition of their valuable contributions. |
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• Well-being - greater flexibilities for more work-life balance.
Through enhancements to various schemes, teachers’ total well being will be looked after.
In support of the Government’s pro-family policies, both female and male married officers with children under 12 years will now be eligible for the PTTS, which is currently open to female teachers with children below six, as well as teachers aged 55 years and above. |
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Look out for more on the GROW package in our next issue of CONTACT print, coming your way soon!
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