Teachers' pay to be pegged closer to performance

Teachers' pay to be pegged closer to performance
Dec 28, 2007

OUTSTANDING teachers and principals will get better pay and bonuses from next year, when their salaries will be pegged more closely to their performance.

From April, annual increments will no longer be fixed at three per cent. Instead, the 29,000 officers in the education service can expect up to a five per cent increment depending on their performance and potential.

Bonuses based on merit will also vary according to whether teachers are graded 'good', 'very good' or 'outstanding'.

'Good' performers will receive a bonus of up to two months' extra pay, while those who are 'very good' will get up to 3.25 months.

'Outstanding' performers can take home up to 4.25 months' more.


There are pluses and minuses in any performance related pay. Appraising a teacher’s performance is subjective. My opinion is that the MOE should make clear as to what constitutes good, very good, outstanding, average and below par performance.

My guess is that MOE is going to allow schools to have the liberty to set its own standards and criteria. There lies the problem. Effectively, this would be a system handed down by the HQ, only for the details to be ironed out by individuals at ground level. This would only cause non-uniform standards to be applied to teachers in different schools who will be rewarded by an employer, with a supposed uniform standard.

Any comments on performance related pay for school teachers?

Related Articles (updated on 7 Jan 2008):
Performance-linked pay more harm than good
Another Article on Teachers' Pay