Master's degree teachers earn less than degree holders, says Shafeeu

Education Minister Dr Ismail Shafeeu has said the current teacher pay framework results in some teachers with master's degrees receiving lower salaries than teachers with bachelor's degrees, adding that the ministry is reviewing the system.

Shafeeu made the remarks during Tuesday's sitting of the People's Majlis in response to a question from Kendhoo MP Mauroof Zakir of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Mauroof noted that, under the previous administration's teacher pay harmonisation policy, teachers who obtained a master's degree after the introduction of the framework were required to wait four years before receiving the associated certificate allowance.

He asked when teachers who completed their master's degrees under that policy would begin receiving the allowance, noting that those who had obtained the qualification before the policy change were already receiving it.

Responding to the question, Shafeeu said the ministry had consulted more than 15,000 teachers in Malé and the atolls and found that many had raised concerns about the current pay framework.

He said the ministry is working with teachers and school principals to review the framework and address the issues.

"The assurance I have given to teachers is that we will resolve these issues through an active review process conducted in close collaboration with our educators and principals," Shafeeu said.

The minister said the existing framework requires teachers to wait four years before becoming eligible for promotion after obtaining a master's degree.

He noted that step promotions due during that period have already been granted. However, because those promotions were awarded under the bachelor's degree salary scale, moving teachers to the master's degree scale would, under the current framework, result in a lower salary.

"The way the pay framework is currently structured, if we transfer them, the salary they receive at the master's tier ends up lower than the salary they were getting with just a bachelor's degree. In my mind, this is something that must be resolved," Shafeeu said.

He added that the issue arose because of the way the pay framework had originally been designed.

Teacher salaries and allowances were revised in 2022 during the administration of former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. Under that framework, teachers receive monthly salaries ranging from MVR 12,000 to MVR 24,000, excluding any subsequent adjustments.