BOSETU calls for abolition of teachers pay system

EPHRAIM KEORENG
Staff Writer | Friday October 8, 2010 00:00

BOSETU public relations officer, Mogomotsi Motshegwa told Mmegi yesterday that the level of operation system is unfair to teachers compared to other public servants.

He said the entry point for primary school teachers with diploma is C4 (about P4,000 per month) and C3 (between P5,000 and P6,000) for degree holders. The teachers with diploma can only progress up to C3 while the degree holders are stuck at C3 scale, he explained.

He said C2 at primary schools is a position of 'responsibility, that of senior teacher, then C4 is for head of department (HOD) and deputy school head whilst the D4 scale is reserved for the primary school head'. He said it is sad to note that at primary school, no one can go beyond the D4 ceiling while at junior secondary, the ceiling D3, a pay scale reserved for juniors secondary school heads. Motshegwa stated that entry point at junior secondary school is C4 for diploma holders and C3 for graduates. 'Junior secondary school heads are at D3 while deputy school heads are at D4,' he said.

At senior secondary school, almost all the teachers are degree holders and they start work at C3 pay scale. Senior teachers are D4 with their heads of department and deputy school at D3, which is an equivalent of what the school head at junior secondary gets.

'The school head at senior secondary is paid at D2 scale. Our position is that we don't want levels of operation.We have our members in primary school, who have degrees, but they can only progress up to C3, whilst at junior secondary school they can go up to C2 and their counterparts at senior secondary school go up to C1.

So the degree holders don't progress at the same pace simply because of the level of operation that the employer has put them on. This creates a situation where some teachers have an advantage over others. This is unacceptable,' he said.

The BOSETU spokesman said they are shocked that after the Ministry of Education and the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) promised that the level of operation will be done away with, it is still being used.Last month, the Department of Teaching Service Management issued an advert inviting applicants for the post of head of department at senior secondary schools in various districts across the country.

This is a D3 post. Efforts to get a response from the DPSM director Festinah Bakwena drew a blank, as her office line was not answered at press time.