Take into account years of service

NST

IT was only after the announcement of the pay rise for civil servants that the issue concerning diploma teachers (DG29) who had upgraded themselves to the DG41 scale became a hot topic of discussion.

The teachers would have got a better pay increase if they had stayed on as diploma holders.

They sacrificed time, money and family to improve their professional status but their efforts were not appreciated.

The only thing these teachers gained was the promotion to DG41, where they started from the bottom or a step nearest to their last pay as a diploma holder.

Other than that, a better pension can be expected if the teacher is still young.
Teachers in this category must be frustrated because when they opted for DG41, they lost their seniority.

Youngsters who started as fresh graduates overtook the old guard in getting promoted because the years of service of the senior teachers in the DG29 category were not considered.

I urge the Education Ministry to look into this matter.

We are not asking something which is beyond comprehension.

We are not asking for better pay or privileges. We only want our years of service as DG29 teachers to be taken into consideration when promoting or rewarding teachers.

We spent thousands of ringgit in answering the call of the government to upgrade ourselves. Some even went on to pursue their Master’s degree, but what do they get in return? Nothing.

So, to DG29 teachers who are above 35 years old, think before you go for your degree. You will end up the loser unless something is done to address the situation.