'Career growth is just as critical as salaries to ensure teacher retention'

As schools across the UAE prepare to reopen on Monday, August 25, education leaders have stressed that career growth, development opportunities and the prestige of teaching are just as critical as salaries in ensuring teacher retention.

- Nandini Sircar

This was reiterated by Dino Varkey, group chief executive officer of GEMS Education, during the annual GEMS Awareness Day held at Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai.

“I think the compensation and benefits package is always going to be important,” he told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the event. “However, I would argue that if you're offering the other elements — professional mobility and development — that genuinely becomes a much stronger incentive for teachers to stay with us than just the financial package. At the same time, we need to ensure our compensation remains competitive.”

‘A new global study has revealed that elementary and preschool teachers in 34 developed countries earn, on average, about 22 per cent less than professionals in other fields with similar education levels.

Varkey also highlighted the importance of raising the profile of teaching. “I think it’s (also) about maybe raising the profile of teaching as a profession. We've certainly tried to do that with our Global Teacher Prize... that’s part of the challenge,” he said.