ADEC adds jobs, increases women teachers pay as part of new organization and pay structure

The Abu Dhabi Education Council has announced a new school organizational structure that adds jobs and increases Emirati teachers' pay by up to 35 per cent.

Female Emirati teachers at public schools are to receive a pay rise of between 25 and 35 per cent to bring their salaries in line with male colleagues and boost recruitment.

The Abu Dhabi Educational Council on Tuesday said the new pay structure was part of an overhaul that would create jobs and reorganise public schools.

Included in the reforms is the introduction of assistants to help integrate special-needs students into classrooms.

“The salary structure for teachers, principals, assistant principals and administrative staff at public schools in Abu Dhabi has been initiated to raise the quality of education and increase the participation of Emiratis,” said Salama Al Amimi, Adec’s executive director of organisational development and excellence.

Ms Al Amimi said this would promote “a comprehensive vision to develop human resources and the status of teaching in school”.

The reforms seek to improve four key challenges identified by Adec: compensation, professional development, teachers’ sense of achievement and work environment.

Research by the council suggested the salary for Emirati teachers was not competitive with other sectors.

Fewer Emiratis are enrolling in education-related courses, showing that teaching is losing its appeal as a career option.

“If we don’t cure this issue today and we don’t recognise the disadvantages, this issue maybe will leave us in the future without Emirati teachers,” said Dr Mugheer Al Khaili, director general of Adec.

Adec’s research also noted that the previous salary structure was inconsistent, with male teachers being paid more for the same work as their female colleagues,

That, it said, was the a legacy of a 1990s recruitment scheme meant to draw men into the field.

Less than half of the 13,800 public school teachers in Abu Dhabi are Emiratis, and only 420 of them are men.

The new pay scale, which was approved by the Executive Council last month, is retrospective to September and will take effect in January.

“The new salary structure is expected to attract more Emiratis into the teaching field, and is competitive in that it honours qualified staff who hold advanced certificate and have excellent performance skills,” Ms Al Amimi said.

Adec’s school reorganisation also introduces administrative jobs to provide school leaders and teachers additional support.

“The new structure ensures quality education and better application of educational plans to raise the standard of students,” said Dr Al Khaili.

“It also provides schools with an autonomous structure that empowers and supports the educational process through employing administrative staff who can help assist school leadership across the schools.”

These new positions include classroom assistants for special-needs pupils, career counsellors, laboratory technicians, information and communication technology officers, management coordinators, registrars and school business coordinators.

“We have 4,000 students with special needs,” said Dr Al Khaili. “We have to involve them in education because these students will be a significant part of our society.”

Schools will also be provided with vice-principals for administrative affairs.

The new positions are meant to ease pressure on teachers and offer schools greater autonomy in supervising and assessing instructors.

“The control and supervision was coming from the central management but now it will be inside the school, so the evaluations also for the teachers will be from the managers and the principals of the school,” said Dr Al Khaili.

“These people are in the school every day and they know their teachers’ strengths and weaknesses, so professional development will be clearly and accurately defined.”