President reveals work to increase teacher pay next year

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has announced that the government is working on revising the remuneration structure for the education sector and providing salary increments from next year's budget.

The president made the announcement while speaking at a special assembly held at Rehendhi School on Tuesday morning to mark the beginning of the new academic year, where he emphasized that "teachers carry out one of the government's most significant pledges - human resource development".

He also emphasized the necessity of providing greater incentives for educators, adding they are the "key to imparting the ideals that would address the most pressing societal issues".

The president also affirmed that an extra allowance is to be received by teachers who volunteer to travel to other islands to teach, stressing that some of the biggest problems faced by society can be solved through education.

Further acknowledging the "immeasurable contribution" of teachers to the nation, he stressed that the state recognizes the hard work of education sector employees.

While increasing salaries of teachers is one of Solih's presidential pledges, Education Minister Dr. Aishath Ali expressed confidence that the president will fulfill this promise.

While the minister also spoke at the Rehendhi School event, she highlighted obstacles due to teachers' low income including difficulties in finding educators and keeping them.

The government had established a new pay structure for teachers in 201 to be implemented the next year, however, the unforeseen Covid-19 pandemic had delayed this.