To ensure that the Education Service has a strong team comprising good teachers, capable leaders and dedicated specialists, the career structure has been designed to comprise 3 career Tracks, namely:

• Teaching Track
• Leadership Track
• Senior Specialist Track

Yes. The career structure is flexible and allows officers to move across different tracks, so long as they meet the criteria and requirements of the job on the track they wish to enter.

The promotion exercises are held on 1 April every year. To be promoted, an officer must have demonstrated consistently good performance and assessed to have potential to move to a higher level of responsibility.

The officer’s assessed potential will determine his rate of promotion, but whether he/she is actually promoted will depend on his/her performance.

In general, promotions are based on the following criteria:

• Potential
• Performance
• Knowledge and Experience
• Availability of vacancies at the higher level

A teacher is eligible for 30 days of ‘ordinary’ full-pay sick leave in a calendar year, and an additional 30 days if he/she is hospitalised in a government or private hospital in Singapore

You may then be given full-pay ‘extended sick leave’, depending on the number of years of service you have put in; followed by 15 days of special sick leave.

A teacher is eligible for full-pay leave up to 10 working days in a calendar year to attend Urgent Private Affairs, or up to 12 days if examination leave is included. Principals have full autonomy to decide on the validity of reasons submitted by the teacher.

Some common reasons for UPA leave applications are: Marriage, selection of HDB flat, convocation, wife’s delivery and serious illness of family members.

Yes, you need to apply for ‘Leave of Absence’. In lieu of annual vacation leave, a teacher is eligible for school holidays. However, this is not an entitlement as he/she may be called upon for duty at anytime during the school holidays. If a teacher needs to leave the country to go beyond the Johore Bahru town limits during the school holidays, he/she need to apply to the Principal for permission to leave the country.

A teacher appointed to the Service on or after I January 1994 is eligible for medical benefits provided under the Medisave-cum-Subsidised Outpatient (MSO) Scheme. The features of the scheme are as follows:

a) Additional Medisave Contribution
The Government will pay an additional Medisave contribution of 1% based on the officer’s total gross monthly salary subject to a salary ceiling of $7,000 per month. Medisave contribution of 1% will also be paid on additional wages earned from mid-year and end-of-year bonuses, subject to a maximum of $350. The additional Medisave contribution may be used to pay hospitalisation expenses or buy approved medical insurance, e.g. Medishield Plus, Incomeshield.

b) Subsidised Outpatient Expenses
The Government will subsidise outpatient expenses at Government Outpatient Dispensaries, Specialist Outpatient Clinics and Polyclinics. The officer co-pays at the following rates:

• For the officer’s own bill = 15 %
• For the officer’s eligible dependent = 40 %

If the officer chooses to visit a private outpatient clinic, the above co-payment rates will also apply, subject to a maximum subsidy of $10 per visit. The outpatient subsidy for the officer and his eligible dependants is subject to a maximum of $350 per annum. Non-subsidised items, such as consultation fee for the first visit at a Specialist Outpatient Clinic without referral and health screening will be fully borne by the officer.

An officer who has not used up his full eligibility of $350 in any one year will have the unused balance transferred into his Medisave account by end March of the following year. The transfer of the unused subsidy balance to an officer’s Medisave account will be effected only if he remains in service on 31 December of the preceding year.

An officer who receives dental treatment can claim up to 50% of the charges, subject to a maximum of $ 70 a year. This amount does not include the cost for any precious metal used in the treatment. Officer’s dependants are not eligible for dental subsidies.

When an officer receives an ‘E’ performance grading, the officer will be put on a Performance Review Process (PRP) which lasts for 9 months. The PRP comprises of 2 phases: Phase 1 is for 6 months and Phase 2 for 3 months. If the officer’s performance improves at the end of Phase 1 or 2, the officer will be taken off the PRP. If the officer does not improve after Phase 2, MOE will take action to terminate his/her service.

An officer is deemed to be financially embarrassed if:

• He is an undischarged bankrupt; or
• He has signed a promissory note or an acknowledgement of indebtedness; or
• He has unsecured debts and liabilities which exceed 3 months of his total emoluments; or
• He is reported to be a judgement debtor.

The Civil Service rules stipulates that an officer cannot receive any presents or token of value from his/her subordinates, the public, students or parents (other than ordinary gifts of personal friends), whether in the form of money, goods, free passage or other personal benefits.

A teacher may, however, receive inexpensive token gifts such as flowers and homemade cards on Teachers’ Day.

Should an expensive gift be presented, the officer must decline the gift. If this is not possible, then the officer is required to forward the gift to Personnel Division for valuation by the Accountant-General Department (AGD). Upon valuation and approval, he may keep the gift after he/she has paid the assessed value of the gift.

The compulsory retirement age was raised from 60 to 62 years on 1 January 1999. For officers appointed on or after 1 January 1999, the compulsory retirement age is 62 years.

Yes, pensionable officers can apply to retire between the optional retirement ages of 55 and 59 years. Each application will be processed and approved on a case-by-case basis, subject to the exigencies of service.

In general, optional retirement between the ages of 55 and 59 years is granted mainly on medical grounds.

An officer on the Pensions Scheme can choose to receive one of the following:

a) A full pension per month
b) A reduced pension per month plus a gratuity
c) A fully-commuted gratuity (i.e. lump sum without any pension)

The amount of pension benefits payable will depend on the teacher’s length of pensionable service and the average annual value of pensionable salary over last 3 years prior to retirement.

An officer who intends to resign from service has to tender his notice of resignation in writing within the notice period:

a) Superscale Officers = 2 months notice period
b) Division 1 to 2 Officers = 1 month notice period
c) Contract Officers = as stated in contract

The amount of liquidated damages payable shall be proportionately reduced based on the actual number of bonded months.

Since your last day of service falls on 31 Dec 2009, you will be eligible for the year-end payments. However, as you are giving 2 weeks’ short notice, you will be required to pay the Government salary in lieu of the short notice from 1 Dec to 14 Dec 2009.

You are required under the IM rules to give at least one month’s notice for your resignation. You should tender your written notice of resignation to your Principal on or before 1 Dec 2009 for your resignation to be effected on 1 Jan 2010. Your last day of service will be 31 Dec 2009 Under a new provision applicable to Education Officers serving in schools only, you will still get your year-end payments.