250 birr housing allowance for city's teachers

03 August, 2009

Capital - The Addis Ababa City Administration has approved a 50 million birr budget to fund various benefit schemes aimed at encouraging teachers working in the city's state schools.

Teachers at public schools (fee charging institutions run by the Government), who were recently classified as Government employees for the first time, as well as those at the state elementary and secondary schools, are believed to number more than 7, 500 in the capital.

The main benefit for the teachers is to receive a monthly 250 birr housing allowance. The allowance will be given to the teachers starting from the first payday of the current budget year, a senior Government official explained to Capital.

"Various schemes, such as summer season educational opportunities and others, are also to be funded by the approved budget," the official also said, adding that teachers at all levels of the education system are included in the benefit schemes.
Some teachers Capital spoke with say 250 birr per month is not enough.

"Everybody knows how much one single room is, let alone a family house," said one teacher, "so, instead of the monthly 250 birr allowance, if we are offered a plot where we can build our own houses together by forming associations, or get reasonable priority in the condominium housing projects, the professionals would benefit greatly and the desire for increased motivation would be better realised."

The city official said the allowance is the best the state can offer at this stage: "250 birr may not be enough to find a big house, but we have to consider the public too, which cannot shoulder more funds. We have to start somewhere and as the city's economy improves the teachers too will benefit from the economic opportunity like the rest of the residents.
"The start of this allowance and other benefits the teachers will enjoy, such as educational opportunities, which will improve their income too should be welcomed."

Teachers in the city who work at higher educational institutions, such as Addis Ababa University (AAU), have been enjoying housing allowances for more than three years. While PhD holders get a 500 birr housing allowance, 300 and 250 birr is given to post graduates and bachelors degree holding lecturers.

At national level, the Ministry of Education (MoE) recently unveiled the Teachers Development Program. As part of this, teachers employed by the state will be given priority for places on post graduate courses at state universities, including AAU.

Discouraging privately-sponsored candidates from applying for post graduate programs, all departments have been ordered to first allocate places to Government employees.

The first categories prioritised for post graduate studies are those teaching at higher education institutions. Bachelor degree holders willing to pursue teaching come in the second category, while the Education Ministry has also tried to attract other civil servants to the profession by putting them in the third category. Fourth in line for post graduate studies are students who finance their education themselves, or are sponsored by a private employer.