Rwanda has increased the salaries of primary school teachers by 88% and the salaries of secondary school teachers by 40%, authorities said in a statement on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente announced the development on Monday, August 1, while addressing both chambers of parliament on the state of the education sector, local Rwandan media reported.
The decision to increase teachers' salaries followed a cabinet meeting held on 29 July, which discussed the strategies to improve the welfare of teachers, including access to finance through Umwarimu SACCO and promoting the quality of education in public and government-aided schools for general education as well as TVETs.
In Rwanda, an A2 certificate teacher (mostly in primary) gets a net starting salary of Rwf50, 849, which is set to increase to Rwf95,596 (R1 546,59).
The Rwanda Basic Education Board is set to recruit over 12,000 teachers for both primary and secondary levels to boost career progression and competitiveness in schools.
The New Times reported that despite the government increasing teachers’ salaries by 10 percent since March 2019, over 1000 teachers leave their profession monthly in search of better welfare.
In South Africa, the average salary for a teacher is R 258 060 gross per year (R 21 510 gross per month), which is 9% lower than South Africa's national average salary, according to jobted.co.za.
Other Rwanda related news
Robert Menendez, Chairperson of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, wants to suspend all security aid to the Republic of Rwanda over the government’s human rights record and its role in the conflict in DR Congo.
In a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Senator Robert Menendez called for a comprehensive review of US policy towards Rwanda.
IOL