New Teachers’ Salary Classification Delay

MEHRD postpones the new teachers’ salary classification and pay structure to May 15, 2025, due to data verification delays.

Permanent Secretary Dr. Franco Rodie clarified that the delay in the implementation of the new teachers’ salary classification and pay structure is not due to financial constraints, as some have speculated, but rather to the slow submission of teacher profiles from education providers.

Initially, the new salary classification was scheduled to take effect on April 6, 2025. However proceeding with this date posed a significant risk to the Aurion Payroll System, which manages the public service payroll. Additionally, the verification process requires integrating teacher data from the MEHRD Education Management and Information System (EMIS) before transferring it to the Aurion System, which is jointly managed by MoFT and the Ministry of Public Service. Following advice from the Ministry of Finance and Treasury (MoFT), MEHRD determined that teacher payroll data must be cleansed and properly aligned before integration into the system. The Ministry then sets the implementation deadline for May 15, 2025, with full execution expected by the end of May 2025.

Dr. Rodie assured teachers that they remain entitled to a 3% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) and backdated payments for both the revised salary structure and the COLA adjustment. He further emphasized that there is no dispute regarding the payment of teacher salaries under the newly approved classification. Cabinet approved the new salary structure in 2024, and sufficient budget has been allocated to execute the implementation.

To ensure clear communication, MEHRD’s senior management team has issued a circular to all education providers and the Solomon Islands National Teachers Association (SINTA), requesting that they inform teachers of the reasons for the delay.

Source: MEHRD