The majority of primary school teachers in Soukhoumma district of Champassak province are complaining that they haven’t received their salaries recently.
They have not received salaries since the start of August with households in which both husband and wife are teachers being the worst affected.
The latest non payment, coupled with already frequent salary delays, has left the teachers in Champassak province struggling to make ends meet, many of them said.
One teacher, who asked not to be named, said she and her colleagues in Soukhoumma district had not been paid for nearly three months and had been warned not to complain about the problem.
“I cannot say anything about it. If you speak out, you may well be looking for trouble,” she said.
However, Deputy Head of Champassak Education and Sports Department, Mr. Sy Phanthavong told Vientiane Times yesterday that things were actually improving for teachers in the province and they received their salaries each month according to the government policy, particularly those in remote areas such as Soukhoumma district.
He suggested possible late payment of salaries may have been the result of the local office using a new method of reporting for teachers.
“I think the district education office is slow to report salary information” he said.
A senior official from the Ministry of Education and Sports Mr. Somphai said the local authority would need to implement salary payments according to the government policy to improve teacher’s daily lives and reduce the number leaving their jobs.
If teachers didn’t receive a salary regularly they would leave for the private sector instead where demand for their skills was increasing.
According to the Champassak department, the province employs about 8,000 teachers including 4,000 in primaries schools.
Source: Vientiane Times
