Haiz, I changed RO every year due to staff movement. Very sian to explain what I do over and over again. 2022-2023 is the first period I have same RO for 2 years.

Always on MC? Wow, didn't know that, thought he so garang one.

Yay promoted to geo4! Good news

Seems okay? I’m not sure if this is considered fast too

8 years in GEO4, just promoted to GEO5. C C+ C C last 4 years.

Real or fake news?
 

Currently in NIE PGDE and people around me are saying how top schools are allowed to have the first pick of EOs based off on performance in a 1AU module called Assessing Learners and Performance.

Does anyone know how true is this?

I would tend not to believe such hearsay since it sounds very ridiculous but then again the system does place a lot of unwarranted emphasis on results to evaluate your "worth". I'll be damned if this is true.

umm yes there is some element of truth . standards are very high in top schools. students complain if teachers content is weak, parents complain too. no amt of padegogy or coaching can fix poor content. there are numerous reddit threads commenting on for eg quality of teaching and notes in JCs.

If you're damned just over something like this, you'll probably be damned many more times or a lot more once you become a trained teacher.

Zero worries if you're a scholar though...

more like wayang

Leaving service
 

Hi all, since we just took Pb.

If I want to leave service now, must the last day die die be exactly on 30th April? Or can I put last day as 10 May for eg.

Minimum stay until end of April. Want to stay longer also can keep your PB.

Stay until end of June good?

Smoother transition for your school/students, if that's a priority. You also get paid for the final few weeks of sch hols.

But if you've got a next step in mind, you'll probably want to consider when they'd prefer you start working…

Should I start finding schools and writing in, before the OPE starts?
The Enhanced posting exercise for HQ officers should also be starting very soon, so i'm worried if I wait until OPE, the opportunities might be even fewer.

If you have been in service for a while and are well-networked, it could help. If you are cold-calling or cold-emailing, no use. If you want to start now, you are basically looking to pull strings through people who know you.

Does one need minimum C+ in the most recent ranking exercise to be promoted?

Perf grades are not hard requirements for promotion, neither are they auto-qualifying mechanisms for promotion. Only thing is you cannot get an adverse grade, i.e. C- or below.

The thing that determines your promotion is..... when HR tells your principal so.

That's the unfortunate truth about the scant information we EOs have about promotion :(

I think nowadays promotions have slowed down a lot, as posted by others in previous replies.

It's becoming something that seems to be timebound + CEP + maybe some other secret equation which we don't know.

You can have A/Bs but they prob look into how many years you are + CEP + other things which we EOs don't know, even SLs also don't know.

Mid Career
2019 Jan- NIE practicum
2019 Apr - GEO2
2020 Apr - C
2021 Apr - B+ : GEO3
2022 Mar - C+
2023 Mar - A : GEO4

Is this considered fast?

Yup, nowadays if you send an enquiry to HR, you will be told that: CEP no longer charts out your promotion rate in a deterministic way, unlike in the past.

In the past, it was very predictable. If your CEP was at a certain level, your promotions would come at a very predictable set of intervals as long as you didn't screw up and get adverse grades. If you performed consistently well, it may speed up, also at a predictable rate.

Nowadays, it appears that there are so many more factors involved that are no longer made known to any EOs, including your principals. One thing that is certain though, is that the rate has slowed down, not just for farmers but also for Ministry scholars. (PSC = different league)

When everyone is a scholar, everyone is not a scholar.

Unless someone is teaching some obscure subjects which few scholars want to major in, recent intakes for mainstream subjects are almost 100% scholars. A lot of A level applicants are channeled to the NIE TSP if they are under local scholarship. Vast majority of PGDE folks are the teaching award people who got the scholarship halfway through uni. So far in my sch, other than the odd farmer teaching in-demand subjects like EL, CL, Art and Music, all the trainees who come in so far are scholars. When the whole intake comprises of scholars, the system can't possibly promote all of them because there simply isn't so many openings for management positions.

When I joined the service donkey years ago, management positions were like 10-15% of total school staff headcount. 1 P, 1 or 2 VPs, and just the HODs of the various subjects and a DM. Today, the middle management has swelled up significantly with more HOD posts created, and not to mention the various STs, SHs, AYHs, LHs under them. Sometimes in a subject team, there are more KPs than normal teachers. The structure is too top heavy, and with many of these middle management in their late 30s-40s, they are only halfway through their career, with nowhere else for them to promote to. The congestion will only become more and more severe for junior officers.

Unless a person is creme-de-la-creme, really don't recommend anyone to join teaching nowadays.

High potential young EOs should not squander their youth waiting for advancement opportunities in schools, rather, they should spend some years in Policy Wing divisions, and then ride on that experience to explore possibilities of cross-Ministry work (whether as a secondment or a full cross-deployment and change of scheme of service).

Some brain drain is inevitable in MOE to ease the incredible progression bottleneck; whether it occurs in the middle-of-career stage, or in the body of young go-getters.

Chicken and egg issue. It seems like nowadays to even get to apply for HQ postings, need to be GEO4, at least for the more prestigious postings. Until they get their GEO4, they are stuck in schools. But it's hard to stand out when everyone in your paygrade are scholars too, and there's only so many As and Bs that can be awarded.

GEO3 is sufficient to hold normal officer positions in HQ. GEO4 is only required to be appointed to some formal leadership positions (e.g. AD). It could be tougher to enter Policy Wing divisions as a very young EO, but Prof Wing divisions (CPDD, ETD) have their fair share of GEO3 officers.

Most of the time you do need a CEP equivalent to SEO1 or higher to enter HQ, though.

Hi I would like to ask, for a confirmed KP how long usually will it take for one to get promoted from GEO5 to SEO1? I got my KP ship and GEO5 in 2020. Realised that one of my SH who just got confirmed this year, managed to get his SEO1 within 2 years (ie GEO5 in 2021 and SEO1 in 2023). He got his KP ship later than me and yet his salary grade is higher than me.

Means one of you is CMi

Geo 5a
 

Anyone promoted to GEO 5A or know of someone who has been promoted to GEO 5A?

No fixed rules.

Since you are geo5, by now you should know that pace differs between people.

Some very high CEP will promote every 1-2 years.

Some have been KPs for many years, still stuck in geo4 and geo5.

Yes, only one in my school got promoted to GEO 5A. This is his 12th year teaching, mid-career. Early 50s.

Are you in a JC or sec Sch?

Yes, one in my school

Seems like one or two per school only for GEO5A promotion and they are close to their 50s.

Primary school

Now we just need one of the promotees (or their good friend) to share the GEO5A salary range… 😂

Don’t think they also know yet cos Pay only in April will reflect new pay and prob the range as well.

Graduated NIE 2020 and just got promoted to GEO4, some people I've spoken to say this is fast and some say this is normal. Not sure what to think, anyone can weigh in?

Mid-career? If you have lots of work exp in education and you were emplaced close to the GEO3 ceiling, I'd say it is normal.

If you are a fresh grad and you believe people when they say it's normal, you're trolling :)

Anyone had colleague throw letter yet?

dont play play leh sekali he PSC scholar sia

Enhanced Posting Exercise
 

Hi all, can geo3 hq officer (EO) due to be posted out be eligible for Enhanced Posting Exercise?