A sucker born every minute. Joining MOE is akin to joining a cult of devil worshippers
Those teachers who make morning announcements every morning, lead the school to say the pledge...those are the worst hypocrites.

Just don't expect to apply what NIE has taught you.
Carrying balls and sucking up to people with power are your best bet for a
"Meaningful teaching career".

And unless you join MOE as a PE, ART or MUSIC (PAM) teacher at primary level,
You're gonna be **** outta luck as a EMS teacher when you see the uneven distribution of workload ....

Your passion will be extinguished the moment you start setting your first draft of exam papers!

Good luck.

Let me explain. I'll use 2 names, A and B as examples.

A joins as a PE teacher and B as an EMS teacher. Both A and B are in the PGDE track at NIE.

Upon graduation, A and B are posted to the same sch, teaching the same level, Primary 4.

Everyday, A (Geo 3) just gathers his class, blows his whistle for a few periods and
is back in the staffroom at 1pm, enjoying .

Meanwhile, B (also Geo 3), has just endured a class of 40 pupils who never seem to hand up their corrections on time.
B also has to set exam papers, praying that the current 6th draft is his last and finish marking 3 classes of math and sci class/homework.

The point I'm making is, it's better to join as a PAM teacher rather than an EMS.

A and B, both GEO 3, are getting the same pay and same holidays but A is able to leave
school everyday at 1.45pm, has no marking to do at home.no book check. No exam setting.

B has to lug home a ton of marking, set stupid never ending exam papers and still chase pupils for corrections because of termly book check!

whoever taught of this "specialisation" for teachers needs to jump off a building.

Tenatively, provided your clear your medical and then contract teaching.

Only then would you be going to nie for a 16 month training.. You also need to clear your practicum and also your 1st year of probation.

discipline warning
 

Hi all, i was caught teaching tuition at a tuition center a few months after i finished my practicum in 2014 and went into teaching officially. I was given a warning letter after a few months and my confirmation and promotion to geo 3 was delayed by 6 months.

Fast forward to now, i have been getting C+ but have yet to be promoted to geo 4. Is this a consequence of the discipline case i had earlier in my career?

Financially embarassed
 

Any idea what happen if you declare financially embarassed?

Yes. Warning letter by itself is quite serious le. The least serious amongst all is a verbal reprimand.

Better to declare than to being found out. However, if you can please ask your closed ones for help. If found out and you were found lying, it can result as severe as dismissal as the integrity of the individual is already not there..

When were you promoted to Geo 3? Degree holder? Male or female?
I cannot understand the part about you being promoted to geo 3 months after your practicum.
Warning letter has serious implications. I would say that a delay in promotion is expected to the very least.

Likely tea session with the school leader to share the reasons that led to the situation that you are in.

I've been giving tuition on the sideline for 3 years now. What happens if I'm found out? Just wondering.

But will get dismissal or anything?

Giving tuition ok what. But if you are doing national exam invigilation duty, you must declare if you are teaching grad class student. To prevent conflict of interest

Touching on financial embarrassment. Anyone can tell when did the ministry put a cap of 3 months salary for unsecured loans, has it always been there or it is only a recent thing?

Pls. If you think PAM teachers are easy. You go teach loh
40 teaching periods plus those meetings assembly doing lesson plans or events. Is no joke too
And yes ur office may have ppl keep saying, AIYA YOU PAM CAN LEAVE 2PM. Not exactly true when u are a FT and core CCA. Then when you stay back, ppl will say. STAY FOR WHAT

Err... Everyone is a FT and has a core CCA. Lesson planning, every EMS teachers also has it.

Aiya, PAM teachers are really easy. Not I say one, but my buddy said one.. XD

It has been there for a long time. Ignorance is no excuse.

PAM need to set paper, need to mark PE scripts?

PAM zero consultation when exam period nears

Guidelines were shared during this year's ethos session. It depends on how "vigorous" you have been trying to earn money via this route, and teaching at a tuition centre is a no go since you are considered to work for another company.

The guidelines are not more than 6 hours a week and you must seek permission. Ultimately, it also depends on how the school wants to deem it.

But to be honest, I am so tired that after I am done in school, I just want to go home to rest.. No time and energy for such things.

So I am not surprised if some school leaders would come down hard on teachers if they were found out having tuition on the side lines without declaring..

My buddy is a pe teacher. Damn relaxed and happy.

Speaking from one who has an overview of deployment . EMS teacher myself who once wondered about this specialisation too.

1) PAMS Teachers have much more teaching periods. EMA Teachers can do abit of their marking during free periods even though we all know the few more free periods doesn’t justify the marking load.

2) Demand vs supply. Not everyone can teach and are qualified to teach PAM subject.

3) PAM Teachers generally handle almost everything in their respective department and programmes. They have less manpower but the scale of projects like sports day, art exhibition etc is not any smaller. Regardless of rank and sub grade , these Teachers are expected to be heavily involved in their dept programme

4) schools usually have their own style of ensuring distributing the workload for a more even distribution . Eg involvement in safety committee, events planning

Finally it’s true I always see my PAM colleagues leaving earlier on certain days but I also do see them during their ‘ peak ‘periods when they handle almost everything on their own

The sports day, art festival is those one off thing..

End of it all, my buddy said they just mostly recycle from past year and make some modifications.

At the end of the day PAM teachers still have it alot easier.

Are ems Teachers required to run programmes and events?

male
my practicum ends in april/ may if i recalled correctly and my batch mate male were all prpmoted to geo 3 in oct i was only promoted to geo 3 in april the year after( 6 mths aft them) due to that investigation etc etc

Yes, definitely. Of course, some run even more than PAM teachers.

Hello! Just wondering, for a female degree holder from NTU, graduating with a second lower and planning to go through PGDE, what will the starting pay be? In addition, during the untrained teaching stint as well as the time in NIE, what would the 'salary' be like? Thanks for helping ^^

Have you cleared your interview?

These days, moe are very picky.. We have excess of teachers..

Can anyone share how long a warning letter delays your promotion? I’m a consistent B-grader (C+ the year after warning letter), but my promotion is delayed.

Looking back, I should have fought against the letter as it the result of something taken out of context.

forgot to add that i am PGDE

Fought against the letter?? Then the consequences would be more dire..

This is civil service... Use what to fight where it was found out that you were indeed moonlighting.

Moonlighting aside, you were teaching in a group tuition centre as well..

erm that was not posted by me.. separate person lah lol

In the first place, there is no hard and fast rule saying when one is going to be promoted (except for the cohort promotion). It doesn't mean that you get B for x number of years and you will definitely be promoted. Promotion depends on CEP too.

I have colleagues who get Bs every year but isn't a KP/ST. The max they can go to is GEO 5. That makes the Geo 4 to 5 a long wait.

My advice is...do your job well. When it comes, it comes. Promotion doesn't add a lot to the monthly salary anyway, and it means more work and if you don't meet the KRA, your appraisal is going to suffer

My advice is you must be chio girl then be teacher. Wear short skirt go class let students enjoy your body. They will surely do well in your subjects! In this way koi sure hit. And confirm yearly promotion. The teachers here confirm is ugly type that’s why cannot promote.

Thank you, I greatly appreciate the pragmatic advice!

Hi, so just to confirm...if I have been a GEO3 this year, does this mean that if I get an average C grade next year, there will be $175 of annual (merit) increment?

I'd treat those figures as a right indication, rather than an actual estimate. I believe your current salary point will likely play a part in this as well.

If i am at ceiling at Geo 3 and promoted next year... do i get promotion and merit increment or just 1 of them?

You get both, but the merit increment will be a much smaller one than usual.

Yearly Increment
 

Hi, may I ask what's the rough % yearly increment for GEO 3 officers? I understand that as one climbs up the rank, the % reduces. I remember GEO 2 was like 4-5%.