About 36,000 educators in Singapore will see an increase in their monthly salaries beginning October 1, as part of the Ministry of Education's (MOE) efforts to keep teaching careers competitive and continue attracting and retaining quality educators.
The salary adjustments, announced on Monday, March 16, will range from 2% to 9 %. The increase will benefit around 33,000 education officers, 1,700 allied educators and about 1,100 MOE kindergarten educators. According to the ministry, the revision aims to ensure that the overall remuneration for educators remains aligned with market conditions while recognising the important role teachers play in the education system.
MOE said that the teachers remain the backbone of the nation's education framework, and that the ministry will continue to invest in their professional development beyond salary adjustments. It added that educators will continue to receive opportunities for learning and career growth throughout their service.
The salaries of education officers, allied educators and MOE kindergarten educators were last reviewed in 2022. The latest adjustment comes as part of periodic reviews conducted by the ministry to keep public sector pay packages competitive.
Education Minister Desmond Lee also acknowledged the contributions of teachers in a social media post on Monday, March 16. He said educators consistently go the extra mile to nurture students and guide them through their learning journeys. Thanking teachers for their dedication, he added that the government will continue to support them as they carry out their mission in schools.
The move follows a broader public sector pay adjustment announced earlier this year, in which about 22,000 civil servants are set to receive salary increases of between 2% and 9% starting August 1.
Commenting on the revision, Darryl David, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education, described the pay rise as timely amid ongoing cost-of-living pressures. He said the increment reflects current economic realities and offers needed support to educators.
However, David said that salary adjustments should be considered alongside other aspects of teachers' working conditions. While teachers are entitled to leave during school holidays, he pointed out that these breaks are often spent preparing lessons or handling administrative duties. As such, factors such as workload and working hours should also be examined as part of broader discussions on teacher welfare.
He also suggested that compensation reviews could take a more differentiated approach by evaluating each group of educators separately. Market conditions for allied educators and kindergarten teachers may differ from those for mainstream education officers, and benchmarking each category individually could ensure salaries remain competitive against private-sector alternatives.
The Singapore Teachers' Union welcomed the announcement, noting that market pay levels have shifted considerably since the last salary review in 2022.
The union's general secretary, Mike Thiruman, said the four-year cycle for major salary reviews was reasonable, but suggested that smaller, more frequent adjustments could help prevent gaps from widening between teacher salaries and comparable private-sector roles.
He added that while the latest pay increase could help address immediate recruitment and retention pressures, long-term improvements in the attractiveness of teaching careers would also depend on better career progression opportunities and effective workload management.
Thiruman added that the union will work with MOE to establish timelines and measurable targets for reducing teachers' workload alongside future pay reviews. In a Facebook post, the union reiterated its long-standing call for a comprehensive review of teacher compensation and said it looks forward to collaborating with the ministry to ensure that the latest changes translate into lasting improvements for both educators and students.
