Sharjah considers raising minimum wage of private school teachers

The Sharjah government authorities are considering a hike in the minimum wage of teachers in all private schools across the emirate.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Dr Humaid Jassem Al Zaabi chairman of the Education, Culture, Youth and Media Committee of the Sharjah Consultative Council (SCC), said that the panel has sent a proposal to the Sharjah Private Education Authority (Spea) calling to earmark a minimum wage for teachers in private schools in the emirate to help them cope with the growing cost of living.
The proposal of SCC committee will be studied thoroughly and the recommendations looked into, an Spea official said.
The hike in the teachers' minimum wages will have a big impact in advancement of the educational process, as it will motivate them to develop their skills and that of the students, Al Zaabi underlined.
The teachers have played a crucial role during the Covid-19 crisis in the successful implementation of the distance learning system, he added.
Al Zaabi said the committee's proposal was drafted after a comprehensive study of the salaries of teachers in the private schools. It showed that low salaries were prevalent in private schools, but it varied from one school to another. The salaries depended on several factors, such as capacity and total revenue of the school, he pointed out.
Salary doesn't match effort

Al Zaabi said that the committee received a large number of complaints about low salaries from teachers of private schools. "It adversely impacts the educational process and the student's academic level."
He said most teachers complained that their salaries did not match their efforts. As the remuneration is not enough to sustain, they are forced to give private tuition, he added.
Al Zaabi said the proposal presented to Spea is based on a study on the cost of living per capita.
"Raising salaries of private school teachers will contribute effectively to providing job opportunities for citizens in this sector in the future," he stressed.
The Spea official said the authority is making huge efforts in developing the educational system in the emirate. "The Spea continues to cooperate with government authorities concerned to enhance the education process by taking stock of all issues and addressing them. The authority had recently rejected all requests submitted by schools to reduce the wages of the teaching staff.
Current minimum wage is Dh2,000
School management officials said that the salaries of teachers ranged between Dh2,000 and 7,000. This indicates that the annual increase in salaries was not done at a fixed rate. Salary raise in schools depends on various deciding indexes like the institute's economic strength and net revenue; the number of students enrolled each year, as well as the number of classes and weekly classes assigned to the teacher.

30% savings during Covid

Accountants and administrators of some schools in Sharjah and Ajman said that the distance learning system has helped save the budget allocated to logistical services, maintenance, electricity and water consumption, apart from other expenses made on canteens, buses and nursing staff supervisors. Besides, some schools have reduced wages of its teachers and staff. The saving in expenses by schools is estimated to be between 25 and 30 per cent of their total budgets.

Demand for 10% fee discount

Rona Abdullah, an accountant at a private school, said that most parents have paid the fees for their children in full for the whole academic year. 
Schools must provide 10 per cent discount in fees because of distance learning, some parents have demanded.
Sheikha Dimas, owner and director of Sharjah British International School, said that the school has reduced 10 per cent of the tuition fees paid by parents for the third semester taking into account the conditions of distance learning, which is a burden that families share with teaching staff by following up with students at home and making sure they attend the lessons. "So we gave 10 per cent discount on the tuition fees for 1,200 students who are the total registered with us, taking into view the current situation."

• Sharjah