More pay for Tadika school teachers?

The Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre (SBPAC) is to propose the cabinet more pay teachers of the Tadika Islamic schools and more subsidies for the mosques in the deep South.

          The proposal was already approved on February 3 by the Strategic Committee for the Development of Southern Border Provinces and subsequently by a screening committee of the cabinet.

          Under the proposal, the Tadika schools are divided into two groups:  those with less than 60 students which number altogether 409 and those with more than 60 students which number 1,629.  As for the first group, there will be four teachers each of whom will receive 3,000 baht a month.  The mosques where the Tadika schools are located will each get 2,000 baht in management fees.  The total subsidy amounts to 14,000 baht a month.

          For the second group of Tadika schools, there will be six teachers each of whom will receive 3,000 baht a month. On top of that, each mosque will receive 2,000 baht in management fee on monthly basis.

          Tadika schools are normally located in mosques or masjids.  They provide full-day or half-day educational programmes for children.

          Under the existing set up, Tadika schools are divided into three groups:  those with no more than 80 students which number 566; the second group with 81-120 students which number 553 and the third group with more than 120 students which number 919.

          The current pay for teachers and subsidy for mosques are as follows:  2,000 baht per month for two teachers and 1,000 baht management fee for the mosques for the first group of Tadika schools; 2,000 baht a month for three teachers and 1,000 baht management fee for the mosques for the second group of schools; and for the third group of schools, there are four teachers each of whom receive 2,000 baht monthly pay plus 1,000 baht management fee for the masjids.

          There are altogether 2,038 Tadika schools in the five southern border provinces with more than 210,000 students and 6,467 teachers.  Pay for the teachers and the mosques which has been subsidised by the state was considered to be unrealistically low.

          Classes are held on the weekends averaging 5-6 hours a day and the subjects taught are mainly about Islam, Arabic and Malayu languages.  There are two levels of the study:  the elementary level which takes three years and another two years for the  secondary level.

          SBPAC secretary-general Pol Col Thawee Sodsong said that the increased pay for the Tadika teachers and subsidy for the mosques would cost the state coffers an addition of 15 million baht from 23 million baht to 38 million baht per month.

          But since the anticipated extra expenditure was not allocated within this year’s budget, the SBPAC will have to ask for funding from the Central Fund.

          The police colonel believes that the increased pay was worth the spending as religion and education would help in the efforts to bring about peace in the restive region.