Tag : Teachers

No bonuses for expat teachers in Kuwait this year

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KUWAIT: Ministry of Education (MoE) officials revealed yesterday that expatriate teachers will receive no bonuses for their work this year. The news came as a shock to many expatriate teachers, who form the majority of the ministry’s teaching staff, particularly at high schools. Although teachers were previously promised pay rises and increased housing allowances, no such increases have yet been approved.

Mohammad, a 47-year old Egyptian teacher, pointed out that the strife of expatriate teachers has been ongoing for years, with the teachers demanding not equal rights with the Kuwaiti teachers but at least salary increases and more benefits. “We are here to make a living and provide a service for this country,” he said. “The ministry officials have been very vague with us; whenever we asked about increases and benefits they said that it is on the agenda, but we’ve seen very little action taken in that regard.

Mohammad added that the expatriate teachers have been hearing vague promises of regulations to give them more rights since the tenure of previous education minister Nouriyah Al-Sabeeh, but have so far seen no action to back the words up. Abeer, another expatriate teacher echoed Mohammad’s sentiments, saying that while the ministry was generous enough to arrange for her to live in a building with other teachers with whom she shares an apartment, very little has been done in terms of maintenance there.

The process of fixing things when they break is difficult through the ministry; we end up coping with the faulty facilities like water heaters and air conditioning that break down often, or we pay from our own pocket to get things fixed. Regardless of all of this, we still don’t receive bonuses even though we are the first to sign up for proctoring and extra work at the end of the school year, which is a job that is tiring and exhausting,” she complained.

One MoE insider said that while many high profile officials wish to improve the situation for expatriate teachers the ministry’s list of priorities is skewed. “The ministry spends a lot of money giving bonuses to Kuwaiti teachers, and then you find reports of corruption and nepotism, as well as complaints from some officials that these teachers are incompetent,” the insider explained.

In many instances, the same teachers who are accused of incompetence are the ones who receive excellent reports. This bureaucracy and corruption exists in all government establishment, we understand that, but the Ministry of Education especially should be exempt from this general unwritten rule.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the insider, who works in a local education zone’s supervisory department, said that from his work he notices that many expatriate teachers work hard and receive excellent reports, but no action is taken to reward them. “Aside from certificates of appreciation and small bonuses, they receive very little encouragement,” he said.

The Kuwait Teachers Association has already issued a statement on the issue, urging ministry officials and decision makers to take action in order to improve expatriate teachers’ pay and conditions. “It goes without saying that if the teachers are satisfied and financially stable, they will perform better. A lot teachers, Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti, are competent and hard-working.

They deserve to receive bonuses and should be encouraged for the effort they exert. The Kuwait Teachers Association sees it as vital that the Ministry of Education practices a transparent and fair policy in its treatment of employees. ” said Abdulrahman Al-Kandari, the chair of the Kuwait Teachers Association.

Jordan’s Lower House scheduled to discuss teachers association bill

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AMMAN – The Lower House is scheduled to discuss the teachers association draft law as referred from the Legal Committee during today’s session.
Last week, following weeks-long discussion of the legislation with various concerned parties, the committee endorsed the law with some amendments.

In previous remarks to The Jordan Times, head of the committee Deputy Abdul Karim Dughmi (Mafraq, 1st District), said members of the panel approved the four components of the law as referred from the government, adding that there is nothing exceptional in the law, which is similar to that of any professional association.

The draft law, endorsed by the government in April this year, incorporates mandatory membership, administrative and financial independence, the right to demand benefits and stipulates that all disputes are dealt with by the judiciary – the same pillars teachers have been pressing for.

However, a controversy has arisen among teacher activists who argued that the draft law, in its present state, does not fulfil their ambitions and vision of an association of their own.
President of the Committee for the Revival of the Teachers Professional Association Mustafa Rawashdeh told The Jordan Times previously that the draft law gives the Ministry of Education the upper hand over the union as it has the ability to dissolve the association.

He also noted that teachers want the election of the association president and its council members to be at the national level and not at the directorate level as it is recommended in the law.

Giving teachers the right and freedom to join political parties is also another inseparable component of the law, Rawashdeh said.

Under the law, teachers in each governorate elect their representatives, who will elect the president and the council members, according to Dughmi.

In addition, the MP said the teachers association draft law resembles that of any professional association in the country – teachers are not allowed to join more than one professional association but can freely join any political party they want.

The House is also scheduled to look into amendments introduced to the public agencies budgets draft law for the fiscal year 2011 made by the Financial and Economic Committee.
© Jordan Times 2011

Tunisia to hire thousands of new teachers

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Tunisia is set to hire thousands of new teachers while at the same time doing away with a long-derided aptitude test for those wishing to join the ranks of educators.

Many teaching hopefuls said the Contest of Aptitude for Secondary Education Teachers (CAPES) was a barrier to employment and a source of corruption. Ahmad Sebri, Director of Professional Contests at the Education Ministry, made the announcement on June 28th, saying that this year’s test would be the last.

The education ministry will also hire 2,000 new teachers, 1,345 new superintendents and 120 new chief superintendents, according to Sebri. By the time of his announcement last month, the ministry had received more than 330,000 job applications. The ministry plans to rely on the files of each individual candidate rather than written tests.

“For ten years I have taken the CAPES contest annually so that I could practice my work as a secondary education history professor,” Majdi Bou Aben told Magharebia with dismay. “I was not able to secure the amount of 6,000 dinars in bribes to succeed in this contest, which was adopted in the era of the former regime.”

Bou Aben added, “Praise be to God, the fruits of the revolution accomplished by the unemployed youth started with abolition of this barrier, which prevented thousands graduates of higher education from practicing their work as teachers.”

Officials plan to base new hiring decisions on the social situation of candidates, the training courses they have completed, their age and seniority in graduation. Technical and psychological testing will then be performed.

“Candidates will be able to challenge the results of the contest if it turns out that there are infractions, so long as documents are provided proving that,” the education ministry official said.

“We had despaired of trying to surmount this contest, which was instituted as an obstacle confronting young people,” said Naima Bechir, 38, who holds a professorship in Arabic literature.

She added, “This contest has contributed to deepening the crisis of nepotism and bribery in Tunisia, for success comes through money or power, and the rest are waiting in a lifetime queue, passing [time] without work.”
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“This contest, established by the former president, was nothing but an opportunity for discrimination in employment,” she told Magharebia.

Although abolishment of the difficult contest was crucial to some, fear of unemployment will persist among young Tunisians.

“I think the principle of seniority will make us wait a lot until it is our turn for assignment, especially with the CAPES or teaching aptitude contest having been abolished,” said Moez Baoudh, a recent graduate.

“True, I am delighted by abolishment of this contest, but at the same time I am fearful about the future,” said Chiheb Al Omri, who obtained a professorship in physics this year. “Perhaps abolishing this contest does not, at base, eliminate favouritism and bribery.”

Tulsa area schools cutting teachers as state funds keep evaporating

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Tulsa-area school districts are facing larger class sizes and fewer teachers this fall as state funding is slashed and federal stimulus dollars dwindle.

Congress provided about $100 billion in stimulus funding for U.S. education the past two years to offset the effects of declining state coffers. The funding expires in September.

Oklahoma will cut another 4.1 percent from the common education budget in fiscal year 2012. But there will be no extra federal dollars to fill those budget holes.

Now, many school districts across the country are facing what many are calling a “massive fiscal cliff.”

“We are down to the bare bones,” said Nancy McKay, chief financial officer for Jenks Public Schools.

State data show Oklahoma received about $307 million in stimulus money, which helped fill school district funding gaps that were left after consecutive yearly cuts to the state education budget.

Last year, Union district lost 90 teaching positions and anticipates losing at least 90 more this coming school year because of state budget cuts. Those losses would have been much worse if not for stimulus money, said Debra Jacoby, chief financial officer for Union Public Schools.

“We still had statewide cuts. We still cut positions. We just didn’t cut as many,” she said. The district is losing more than $5 million in stimulus money for this coming school year.

Jenks cut an additional $2 million from its fiscal 2012 budget in anticipation of the loss of $3.5 million in stimulus funding, McKay said.

“As we navigated through this turbulent budget crisis over the past 2 1/2 years, our state aid has been cut by $6 million. And so we have cut $6 million to address those revenue reductions,” she said.

That includes eliminating 20 certified teaching positions and 28 support staff for this fall. Class sizes will swell as a result.

“Unfortunately, that is the outcome forced upon us by the state of Oklahoma. It’s not a good thing,” McKay said.

The district has introduced numerous cost-saving measures, from freezing travel to hiring a third-party janitorial service in place of its 39-member janitorial staff. That last move saved the district $1.4 million, she said.

“We have really cleaned house. There’s nothing left to cut but people,” McKay said.

The dire financial situation is exacerbated by the state’s delay in providing districts information about their state aid allocations.

Usually the state provides the information to districts in early July, but the state has told both Jacoby and McKay it could be August before they know what funding they have for specific categories.

“We’re in the dark right now on how many dollars will be cut from our state funding,” Jacoby said.

State funds make up half of Union’s yearly budget.

“I’m trying to be as understanding as I can, but there are students who need to know that they have a teacher. And those teachers need to be getting their classes ready for the beginning of school, and they need to be developing their lesson plans,” Jacoby said.

She said administrators can’t make those decisions until administrators learn what kind of state allocation the district will receive.

McKay said she believes the reason for the delay is the “changing of the guard” at the state Education Department. Janet Barresi was elected last year as state superintendent of public instruction.

“You can tell that she’s very green. She does not understand how timing is everything for those 500 and some schools out here in Oklahoma who are trying to craft a budget,” McKay said. “It’s just a shot in the dark for us. It is not a professional or a good way to do business.”

The loss of stimulus funds also will force Tulsa Public Schools to cut 65 of 140 special education staff positions and eliminate $1.3 million for student counseling services provided by mental health agencies.

Last year, TPS reduced its teaching force by 225 positions due to state budget cuts.

“We used stimulus money to fill in holes left by state budget cuts. Then we had more state budget cuts. This is the result,” TPS Superintendent Keith Ballard said recently. “These are very necessary services for kids, but the Oklahoma Legislature is determined to have smaller government. This is what smaller government looks like.”

Project Schoolhouse under way as schools converted, teachers and students reassigned

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Signs of change are starting to appear on marquees and the sides of school buildings all over town. The implementation of Tulsa Public Schools’ efficiency initiative called Project Schoolhouse has moving vans ferrying school property, old names being removed to make room for new ones and the reassignment of displaced teachers nearing completion. “We started moving three days after school was out and we have contracted for some additional help with movers because it is a vast job,” said Deputy Superintendent Millard House.

Kuwait: ‘New salary scales of teachers to be implemented next year’

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KUWAIT CITY, July 1: Minister of Education and Higher Education Ahmad Al-Mulaifi has announced that the new salary scale of teachers will be implemented by the beginning of 2012, reports Al-Anba daily.
“The government abides by all decisions issued by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the National Assembly whether it is the revised salary scale that would cost the state KD 88 million and comes into effect from April 1, 2011 or the annual bonus system that will depend on the performance of employees and costs the state KD 143 million. The latter will be implemented by the beginning of 2012.”
Female and male teachers can get a maximum of annual bonus worth KD 8,000 depending on their performance, their attendance rate, number of classes they take and their educational achievements, noted the minister.

Al-Mulaifi denied reports which said GCC nationals were not included in the new salary scale, saying all GCC nationals will be granted rights approved by the CSC.
Kuwaiti teachers are meanwhile, planning to go on strike at the beginning of the new academic year to protest a decision by the National Assembly and the government not to give nod to the teachers’ salary increment draft bill, reports Al-Shahed daily.
Through electronic communications and websites of the Kuwait Teachers Society, the teachers have demanded to suspend cooperation with the Ministry of Education because of the stand adopted by the Minister of Education and Higher Education who has opposed the bill.
The teachers have now appealed for HH the Amir to intervene and approve the bill through a decree citing the importance of the role being played by Kuwait teachers in developing the nation.

Private schools in KSA force teachers to accept low salaries

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RIYADH: Private school authorities have been accused of forcing their teachers to either sign a labor contract for a lower salary or tender their resignation.

The teachers allege that school authorities are only prepared to give a monthly salary ranging from SR2,000 to SR3,000 to those who agree to work during the next academic year.

They said this was in clear violation of a decree issued by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah that stipulated the minimum salary of men and women teachers should be not less than SR5,600.

While describing the decision to cut the salary as arbitrary, the teachers noted that the move had nothing to do with the Ministry of Education.

They added that the ministry has so far not issued any order with regard to the implementation of the royal decree, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported.

Maha Al-Qadi, an elementary school teacher, said that she sees no justification for the school management to compel her to sign a new contract with a monthly salary of SR3,000 or resign.

“The order issued by the king should be fully enforced. It needs no further clarifications from the ministry or any other educational bodies,” she said.

Al-Qadi refused to sign the new contract and instead resigned.

“I tendered my resignation papers even though I am in dire need of money to support my family. But I have no regrets leaving the job,” she said while criticizing private school operators for their greed and exploitation.

Echoing the same view, fellow teacher Salma Al-Ghorabi said her school management forced her to sign a new contract with a monthly salary not exceeding SR4,000.

Another woman teacher, who requested anonymity, told the newspaper she agreed to sign a contract for a monthly salary of SR2,000 as she lacks any other source of income.

Meanwhile, the director of a private school, who preferred to remain anonymous, confirmed that school authorities have given the option to teachers to sign new contracts or leave their jobs as a precautionary measure to ensure the smooth running of institutions in the next academic year.

She claimed her school’s labor contract contains a provision to give the teachers the minimum salary stipulated by the royal decree.

It has been pointed out that education authorities have no effective mechanism to monitor the functioning of the private schools and their fee setting.

This prompts most schools to exploit the situation. For instance, teachers of a private school who refused to sign a labor contract with a salary of SR2,000 were vehemently criticized by the school director, the newspaper reported.

According to the royal decree, private school teachers should be given a minimum salary of SR5,000 plus SR600 for their transportation.

Many private schools allegedly raised school fees immediately after the decree was issued, but have not acted to increase the salaries of their teachers. Teachers urged the Ministry of Education to intervene.

Kuwait: Teachers Salary Hike Rejected

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Kuwait: Teachers Salary Hike Rejected

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KUWAIT CITY, June 28: The National Assembly on Tuesday rejected the draft bills on increasing the salary of teachers and allowance of students.
Only 42 lawmakers voted in favor of both bills, which require 44 votes to pass. Parliament Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi started the session by accepting the request of some lawmakers to include the bills in the agenda. Prior to the session, several lawmakers threatened to walk out of the hall in case the assembly turns down the request.
However due to failure to obtain the required number of votes, the speaker announced the two bills will be presented for voting again in the next legislative term, during which only 33 votes are needed to approve the proposals.
After the voting, some teachers in the audience shouted at the MPs who voted against the bills, prompting the speaker to adjourn the session for 15 minutes. He also asked the teachers to leave the session hall.
It can be recalled that the Parliament approved these bills last week but the government decided otherwise; instead it approved the teachers’ bonus bill presented by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and instructed Education and Higher Education Minister Ahmad Al-Mulaifi to issue a decision on the students’ allowance.
When the session resumed, the assembly continued its discussion on the state budget, which was rejected Monday by the Budget and Final Audit Committee due to the excessive increase in expenditure and the failure of various government institutions to implement the recommendations of the Audit Bureau regarding their budgets.
Committee Chairman MP Adnan AbdulSamad has been quoted as saying the proposed state budget for fiscal 2011/2012 amounted to KD 19.75 billion. “For the first time, the state budget reached almost KD 20 billion. I think this is crazy,” he added.
During the session, AbdulSamad disclosed the panel had 88 meetings to discuss the budget and final accounts, and each time they always find irregularities in the expenditure in line with the observations of the Audit Bureau.
“This year’s budget is the largest in the history of Kuwait. The government has proposed an increase of KD 1.773 billion to the original budget amounting to KD 17.900 billion. If the lawmakers approve this amount, we will bear the consequences, considering the state will spend KD 550 million for the salary increase of the military personnel and the KD 50 increment for public sector workers whose salaries are below KD 1,000,” AbdulSamad added.
AbdulSamad pointed out the government included the KD88 million allocated for the teachers’ bonus in the budget, in addition to KD 130 million Amiri grant, KD 478 million for the Public Authority for Social Security (PASS), and KD 204 million for the salary increase of cleaning works and other increments.
He warned the proposed budget, if approved, will have a negative impact on the society. He cited as an example the investment budget amounting to KD 491 million. He then stressed the need for cooperation between the government and the Parliament to revise the budget.
State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Ali Al-Rashed confirmed the government on Monday approved the teachers bonus and KD 50 salary increment bills with a budget of KD 550 million. He clarified only the teachers with outstanding work performance are entitled to the bonus.
He said the original budget for the teachers bonus was KD 350 million but the government has trimmed it down to KD 243 million.
MP Saleh Ashour argued the Kuwaiti economy is flourishing in terms of production but the problem is the improper distribution of wealth. “Due to this, we have to increase the budget every year, not to mention the approval of the proposed salary increments and students’ allowance.
Unfortunately, the country remains dependent on oil as the main source of income. If the price of oil in the global market falls to less than $90 per barrel, the government has only two options — reduce salaries or limit the budget.
The speaker postponed voting on the state budget and that of the Kuwait National Petroleum Corporation (KNPC) until Wednesday — the last session before the summer break. He also announced that the Budget Committee and the government will meet after Tuesday’s session to reach an agreement on the figures prior to voting the next day.
On the other hand, the speaker rejected the request of MP Dr Daifallah Buramiya to include the loan interest cancellation bill in the agenda for Tuesday’s session. He said the bill has been rejected by the Parliament and there is no way for the latter to resume discussions on the same proposal. He advised Buramiya to present a new draft bill.

Kuwait: ‘Government to look at payscale of teachers’

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KUWAIT CITY, June 17: The teachers’ payscale motion is out of the parliament at this moment and the government will deal with the motion, as per the Constitution, the Minister of Education and Higher Education Ahmad Al-Mulaifi was quoted by Al-Anba daily as saying.
Al-Mulaifi added that the Council of Ministers refused to pass the motion as the parliament approved in its discussion, seeing that the government has accomplished better than the motion’s items.
Meanwhile, Al-Qabas daily published details of the motion that specifies that a KD 150 allowance will be paid to all supervisors and KD 200 will be given to master’s degree holders, and PhD holders will receive KD 400. The allowance for excellent duty will be raised to KD 1,500 annually, and teachers who pass the training courses accredited by the Civil Service Commission will obtain bonuses not exceeding KD 1,000 during a particular school year.
The Kuwaiti teachers will obtain indemnities equivalent to their combined salaries for one and a half years, once the male teachers have spent 30 years and the female teachers spend 25 years in service. The decision applies to those who are forced to retire due to medical reasons, and with 50 or more percent disability, regardless of the number of years spent in teaching. The pay scale motion was approved by the parliament Wednesday, the daily added.