Singapore Government Press Release
Media Division, Ministry of Information and The Arts,
MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2^nd Storey, Singapore 179369
Tel: 837-9666

SPEECH BY RADM (NS) TEO CHEE HEAN, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND SECOND MINISTER FOR DEFENCE AT THE SENIOR EDUCATION OFFICER PROMOTION CEREMONY 2001 ON SATURDAY, 14 APR 2001 AT 10 A.M. AT THE WESTIN BALLROOM

Good morning Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen

It is a happy occasion today. I would first like to warmly congratulate the 2,758 MOE officers promoted on 1 Apr 2001. This comprises 655 Education Officers promoted into and within the Superscale and Senior Education Officer grades and 2,024 officers promoted within the General Education Officer grades. 79 Non-Teaching Staff have also been promoted including 2 officers promoted into the Superscale grade.

Another 762 Education Officers and 20 Non-Teaching Staff will be considered for promotion later in the year, subject to continuing good performance.

The most senior officer being promoted this year is Mrs Chan Jee Kun, Director of Curriculum Planning and Development, who has been promoted to the substantive grade of Superscale D.

As I mentioned in Parliament last month, my Ministry is focussing this year on reshaping the teaching career.

Teachers lie at the heart of all we do in Education. The Education Service is 24,000 strong today. They staff our 380 schools which together educate 500,000 students.

The teachers who joined the service in the 1960s and 1970s have formed the backbone of the teaching force for the last three decades. Many will continue to serve with commitment and excellence in the coming decade. But over the next five years, the most crucial task is to ensure that as these stalwarts retire their successors are in place so that we will continue to have capable and committed people to follow in their footsteps. We have to ensure that the younger teachers who are now in service are developed, and rise to fill their ranks, and that more new teachers join their ranks each year.

We need to ensure that teaching remains an attractive career choice. We want to build an education service that meets the needs of our nation and the aspirations of our teachers. We want to create a culture of professional excellence which nurtures the individual and motivates all as a team to achieve superior performance. This will allow us to attract and retain good teachers who are committed to their students and ensure that we continue to have the strong, stable, high quality teaching force that we need for the future.

It is against this backdrop that a comprehensive review of the teaching career was conducted. Over the last 7 months, the Steering Committee chaired by the Permanent Secretary of Education has worked hard with our consultants from the HayGroup to review and restructure our pay and career systems to ensure that the teaching profession is well positioned for the future. The Committee received views from more than 3,000 teachers who had contributed in various focus group discussions, surveys and committees. In their school visits this year Senior Officers from MOE HQ had also sought feedback and comments from teachers on the review.

I am pleased to announce the new package today. The Edu-Pac or Education Service Professional Development and Career Plan – has 3 main components: a new career structure, a new recognition structure, and enhancements to the performance management system.

Let me address the most important element of the new package first - the new career structure. The Education Service aims to provide a challenging and enriching career with career paths that cater to the different talents, abilities and aspirations of Education Officers. We value competencies which are built up through experience, practice, sharing and continual learning. We will offer good careers to those who choose to teach and will design a system to encourage as many as possible to stay for a long and satisfying career. Just as important, we want to attract and retain those with leadership abilities who can rise and eventually assume top leadership positions in schools and in HQ.

In line with these underlying principles, the new career structure will comprise three career tracks or three fields of excellence:

The three different tracks will enable MOE to build a top-notch team of good teachers, capable leaders and dedicated specialists.

The Teaching Track is important because it will cater to the majority of officers in the Education Service. The Teaching Track will provide significantly improved professional development and advancement opportunities for teachers who make teaching excellence in the classroom the primary focus in their careers.

There will be a new pinnacle appointment, the Master Teacher, above the current apex of Senior Teacher. Master Teachers will be appointed from amongst Senior Teachers and contribute beyond the school level at cluster level. They will continue to teach and help develop teaching excellence in the cluster through mentoring, developing good teaching practice and model lessons. While performing the role of a Master Teacher they will be paid a salary which will be equivalent to that of a senior Head of Department. We plan to eventually have 3 to 4 Master Teachers per cluster or a total of 160 posts in all.

Currently there is 1 Senior Teacher post for every 10 classroom teachers. We have been gradually selecting teachers to be promoted to fill these posts. We will double the number of Senior Teacher posts in schools to 1 Senior Teacher post for every 5 classroom teachers. With this change, each school will now have 40% of its posts as Senior Education Officer posts compared to the current 30%.

The larger number of Senior Teacher posts and the new Master Teacher posts will provide many more opportunities for able teachers to advance to these positions and be promoted while doing what they do best - which is teaching in the classrooms and mentoring and guiding younger teachers. It will allow us to recognise the valuable contribution that these senior teachers make and provide for greater stability, continuity and excellence in teaching in our schools. This will also ensure that competencies built through experience will be retained in the system for continual development of younger teachers, hence benefiting our students directly.

Teachers on the Teaching Track will have opportunities to advance themselves professionally through advanced diploma and higher degree programmes, and other forms of continuing professional development, training and attachments. As Senior and Master Teachers are key positions on the Teaching Track, we will introduce a formal accreditation system for progression to these levels. Teachers moving up to these higher levels will need to meet thresholds in terms of skills and knowledge and will have to demonstrate the necessary competencies and performance for the higher job level.

The Leadership Track remains the track that leads to leadership positions in the schools and HQ. Those on the Leadership Track have a strong impact on how resources are used and teachers are motivated to achieve the Desired Outcomes of Education. There is no need to make any major changes to the Leadership Track as it continues to meet our needs. We will make two changes to enhance the leadership track and recognise the important role that school leaders play.

First, those Heads of Department who carry a heavier responsibility can now be promoted to a job grade one level higher than the current job grade for Heads of Department. Second, we will introduce new special allowances, and increase the current responsibility allowances for those holding leadership appointments but who have not yet been promoted into their appointment grades. I will say more about this later.

Besides the Teaching and Leadership Tracks, we will create a Senior Specialist Track to develop a strong group of officers at HQ with deep knowledge and skills in specific areas in Education who will innovate, break new ground and keep us at the leading edge in educational developments. This will be equivalent to the research and development arm of a company. There will be specialisation in 4 broad areas: Curriculum & Instructional Design, Educational Psychology & Guidance, Educational Testing & Measurement, and Research & Statistics.

Flexibility between Tracks

We will allow for flexibility of movement across different tracks so long as officers meet the criteria and standards for the job on the track to which they are moving. This is to allow the organisation to continue to tap on a broad base of talent.

I now come to the next element in Edu-Pac - the new recognition structure - an important element because recognition is an important motivator to encourage each of our teachers to do their best for our students. Rewards and recognition encompass a broad spectrum and do not just cover salaries and pay. Indeed, in the survey that was run during the review, teachers said that what keeps them going is seeing their students grow. Teachers said that they must feel that what they do is meaningful and challenging, that the school cares for them and that there are opportunities for professional development.

MOE will adopt a total rewards structure that recognises and rewards good performance as well as provides learning and development opportunities. We want to ensure that our teachers are well taken care of and well remunerated. In terms of pay, we will ensure that salaries and benefits remain competitive.

We will establish a stronger link between pay and performance. We will also narrow the lag between substantive salaries and grade of the post held. Experience and commitment will also be appropriately recognised.

We will also endeavour to ensure that some of the best who are interested in education are attracted to the education service every year, and that they will be provided with careers that are as challenging and rewarding as they will find anywhere else.

Let me first address the measures which have been primarily targeted at classroom teachers. The General Education Officer grades which are largely our classroom teachers will receive an increase in their annual salary package ranging from 10% to 15%. This will come in three components – an increase in monthly salaries, an increase in the base rate of performance bonuses, and a special plan to recognise continuity, experience and commitment in the classroom.

General Education Officers will receive an increase in their monthly salaries of between 2% to 4%. However, salaries on the entry grade of GEO 1 and GEO 2 will not be revised as pay at these levels remains competitive.

We will double the base rate performance bonus quantum for General Education Officers, the grade of most of our classroom teachers, from the current 0.5 months to 1 month. Outstanding classroom teachers can now receive up to 2 months performance bonus instead of just 1 month. This portion of the salary increase is performance based, and represents a 3% to 6% increase in annual salary.

A significant new feature in our new recognition structure is the CONNECT Plan. This Plan is targeted at recognising CONtiNuity, Experience, and Commitment in Teaching. This Plan will therefore be for General Education Officers, and Senior Education Officers in the Timescale grades only. Officers in key positions who have been promoted to the Superscale grades will not be on the Plan as they will be drawing other benefits from their total reward package.

Under this Plan, the Ministry will put aside a sum of money each year ranging from $2,200 to $4,800 into the Plan for each officer. At defined points every 3 to 5 years during their careers, officers will draw out a proportion of the money that has been accumulated for them. This will range from $4,400 to more than $20,000 every 3 to 5 years. The larger amounts would be paid-out at the 15^th year of service and nearer retirement.

A teacher who starts at Year 1 on the Plan today and stays with us throughout and retires after a full career could potentially receive a total pay-out with a current value of $90,000 to $120,000 in all from the Plan. The Ministry will review the amount that is to be set aside, and the pay-outs regularly. The actual quantum to be set aside each year and paid out would be dependent on various factors, including the state of the economy. The pay-outs, once every 3 to 5 years, will average out to about 4% of the officer’s annual salary package.

As this is an innovative feature and a departure from the traditional mode of civil service pay, the Ministry will need a little time to set up the Plan and put in place the supporting structures and mechanisms. We will give further details later this year.

Let me now address the measures designed for Senior Education Officers and officers holding School Leadership Positions.

The annual salary package of Senior Education Officers on Timescale will be increased by between 5% to 9%. This will consist of increases of 3% to 6% in monthly salaries and periodic CONNECT pay-outs every three to five years. At the Superscale grades, we will move from a fixed salary point at each grade to salary ranges with merit-based increments for each Superscale grade. This will strengthen the link between pay and performance.

We will also increase the performance bonus quantums for Senior Education Officers who are outstanding and very good performers and distinguish them more significantly from good officers. Outstanding officers can now receive up to 3 months of performance bonus.

A number of our officers are holding positions of leadership responsibility but have not yet been promoted to their job grade. We will recognise the added responsibilities they are holding with increased and new allowances.

The Responsibility Allowance for officers in the General Education Officer grades who are holding Subject Head, Level Head, Head of Department and Vice-Principal positions will be increased from the present $200 to $300 per month, to annual allowances of $3,000 to $5,400. This represents a 25% to 50% increase in these allowances.

We will introduce a new annual Special Allowance for Cluster Superintendents and Principals who are in the substantive grades of SEO 2, SEO 1, and SEO 1A1. Those in the SEO 1 and 2 grades will be eligible for an annual allowance of $8,400 while those in the SEO 1A1 grade will be eligible for an allowance of $6,000 per year.

The new Special Allowance will narrow the gap between substantive grade salaries and job grade. Officers must meet defined potential and performance requirements to qualify for these payments.

The revisions to monthly salaries will take effect from 1 Jul 2001. Superscale officers will not receive any immediate increase. However, from next year onwards, they will have the opportunity to be eligible for merit-based increments based on their performance.

As a result of these revisions, General Education Officers will receive an increase in their annual package ranging from 10% to 15% while the annual package of Senior Education Officers will increase by between 5% to 9%.

With these revisions, the remuneration package of the Education Service will be linked closer to performance and will be more competitive.

The review recognised that there is a need to take care of both the tangible and intangible needs of our teachers. We must tackle the issue of total rewards from a comprehensive framework covering areas such as recognition, worklife balance, and learning and development opportunities.

To reward significant value-added contribution that has impact on the school, a new Outstanding Contribution Award will be set up in each school. We will set aside $3,000 per school per year for this Award. It will comprise a team award of $2,000 and an individual award of $1,000. All employees in the school are eligible to be considered for the award. This will be a school-based award and schools will be given complete autonomy to decide on the recipients. A significant feature of these Awards is that they will explicitly recognise that teamwork is such an important feature of the work that goes on in our schools.

In terms of learning and upgrading opportunities, we will enhance the existing Professional Development Leave (PDL) scheme. Teachers are currently able to apply for half a year of PDL at half pay after every 6 years of service. We will give our teachers the additional option of receiving full-pay for half a year, while teaching half-load and spending the remaining half of the time on action research or other professional upgrading activities. This initiative aims to promote a culture of continuous improvement and learning. It will broaden the range of schemes we have in place for teachers to learn and develop. Earlier this year, we had introduced a scheme to sponsor teachers for NIE’s Advanced Diploma and Advanced Postgraduate Diploma courses. We will continue to look at other ways of providing more learning and development opportunities for our teachers.

We will continue to explore ways to allow teachers to strike a better balance between work and family commitments. A significant initiative was introduced last year to allow teachers to be employed on part-load teaching to give teachers more flexibility in work arrangements. The part-load teaching scheme is presently being piloted in 206 schools and there are 48 teachers on the scheme. The scheme has grown in popularity since its inception and MOE will be reviewing the scheme this year to see how we can make it even more attractive and also decide whether it should be extended to more schools.

Apart from the new three track career structure, and the new reognition plan, the third and final component of Edu-Pac is the performance management system. We want to improve the way that teachers are assessed. Our current system is rigorous but is a one-size fits all approach that emphasises the capability for management. With the development of 3 career tracks, there is a need to define the competencies essential for success in each field of excellence. We will embark on a separate project to develop a competency-based model comprising knowledge, skills and traits appropriate for each track. We target to complete this by the end of next year.

The enhanced performance management system is the glue which binds the other two components of Edu-Pac. It will provide greater clarity in terms of the link between pay and performance as well as career progression along the different career tracks. It will also better align learning and development opportunities with the career and recognition structures.

This is a major restructuring that we are embarking upon. Over the next few months, there will be briefings and brochures to explain to teachers the changes that will be made. Information will also be available and queries answered on the MOE website. Implementation will be done progressively over the next few months. Major changes like the new performance management system will take a while longer. The most immediate change is the salary revision which will take effect from July this year.

During the Workplan Seminar in September last year, I had talked about the 3 building blocks that are needed for us to build a world class education system for the 21^st century. The first 2 building blocks are firstly, to create a conducive physical work environment and secondly, to provide good administrative support to schools. With Edu-Pac, we would have put in place the third and most important building block, which is to build a high quality teaching force for the future with good teachers, capable leaders and dedicated specialists, to do all the things that we want to do for our students.

Edu-Pac will cost the Ministry an extra $173 million this year or an 8.4% increase in our expenditure on manpower. Edu-Pac will position our Education Service for the future. It will provide the Ministry with the range of tools required to develop, recognise and reward our teachers. It signals that we are committed to recruit and retain good teachers, give them challenging and rewarding careers that are aligned with their aspirations - to excel in the classroom if that is what they aspire to do, to develop new ideas and strategies for the education system, or to play a leadership role to shape the education system of the future.

Teachers are the key to all that we do in education. They are the single most crucial element in building the education system of the future. This new professional development and career structure is therefore more than just teachers’ careers. It is an investment in a high quality Education Service that will prepare our children for the future.

As Senior Education Officers, you are an important partner with the Ministry in this effort. As school leaders, you prioritise and operationalise MOE policies. You give life and meaning to them and shape the school environment. Your teachers look to you for guidance, advice, support and inspiration. School climate is one of the most important factors in the motivation, satisfaction and retention of teachers. You know what our teachers tell us: that although pay is important, pay alone is not the reason when they are deciding to join or stay in the service. A challenging yet nurturing work climate appears at the top of the list. So work with your teachers, create an environment for them that is nurturing and supportive and in which all of you can find satisfaction in your chosen vocation to teach.

As school leaders, you carry a heavy responsibility for your teachers and for your students. But you can also enjoy the satisfaction that comes from leading a successful team and putting in place systems and values that will have an enduring impact on the schools that you lead and make a difference in the lives of the teachers and students that you lead.

Finally, let me once again extend my congratulations to those promoted this year. Keep up the good work.