Ethnic language teachers complain of late pay

By DMG 01 Jul 2022

DMG Newsroom
1 July 2022, Sittwe

Ethnic language teachers in Arakan State complain that they have not yet received their June salaries.

Ethnic language teachers are not permanent staff, and rather are hired by the government for daily wages that are collectively paid as salary at the end of each month.

An ethnic language teacher from Myebon Township said: “I am assigned to a village far from my hometown, and I had to borrow money to travel to that village. But I did not get my salary on June 30, and I can’t pay back the money. The school principal can’t tell when I will be paid.”

Another ethnic language teacher, Daw Tin May Oo from Taungup, also voiced frustration over the delayed pay.

“We have devoted our time to this job. We have families to support, so we expect our salaries when the month ends,” she said.

When asked by DMG, Arakan State Education Office head U Ba Htwe Sein said the ethnic language teachers have not yet been paid for procedural reasons. They will get their wages when the Basic Education Department authorises funds to pay them, he added.

“We still can’t give them wages because the department has yet to approve our application to grant funds to pay them. This is the procedure because they are not permanent teachers,” said U Ba Htwe Sein.

Previously, ethnic language teachers were paid K4,500 ($2.43) per day, and since October of last year, they are provided a monthly salary of K130,000.