Frustrated parents have linked low teacher salaries to rising mischief and drug abuse among students, calling on the government to allocate more funds towards improving educators’ welfare in the 2025 national budget.
During recent budget consultations, a concerned parent warned that poorly paid teachers—earning as little as $200 a month—are forced to juggle side hustles, leaving students unsupervised.
“Teachers are in class physically, but their minds are elsewhere, trying to figure out how to survive,” the parent said. “They’re selling sweets and jigs, and students are left to play most of the time.”
The parent emphasized that the neglect in schools is feeding a dangerous trend of drug use among learners. “If you visit schools, you’ll see the reality—pupils aren’t being attended to, and teachers are preoccupied with making extra income.”
The ongoing budget consultations, led by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance, and Investment Promotion, have seen public outcry for more funding for education, health, and social services to ease the burden of the high cost of living.
