Minister of Education, Higher Education and Skills Development Dr. Ismail Shafeeu has assured that the pay framework for educators will be reviewed in close collaboration with teachers.

The Minister gave this assurance in the People's Majlis today, responding to a query by opposition MDP MP for the Kendhoo constituency, Mauroof Zakir, regarding teachers' widespread concerns over structural salary changes.

Highlighting that teachers are nation-builders who deserve the highest standard of rights, salaries, and allowances, Dr. Shafeeu noted that he has personally met with educators across Malé and approximately 15 atolls to directly understand their grievances.

Explaining the root cause of the issue, the Minister pointed out a technical anomaly inherited from when the framework was initially formulated under the previous administration. Currently, due to the structure of step promotions awarded over a four-year period for Bachelor's degree holders, moving a qualified teacher into the Master's degree pay bracket ironically results in a lower salary than what they earn at their current step with a Bachelor's degree.

Dr. Shafeeu emphasized that the government cannot seamlessly transfer teachers into the Master's degree salary tier until this discrepancy is corrected, as doing so under the current system would unfairly penalize teachers for gaining higher qualifications.