Private schools in Sharjah told to pay teacher salaries in full

Our Correspondent
DUBAI
The Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA) has ordered private school managements to pay teachers’ salaries in full; and to refund them any reductions made during the ongoing COVID-19 period. It also rejected all requests to cut salaries of teaching staff for the academic year 2019-2020.
In a circular sent to school administrations on June 8, the SPEA said those schools that have implemented pay cuts will be given five working days to return unpaid salaries. Legal action will be taken against school managements that fail to comply, the SPEA warned.
An SPEA official said that since parents are paying fees for the distance learning system that has been operational since April, teachers must be paid in full. Teachers need to be compensated for the extra efforts they have been taking in preparing digital content and imparting them remarkably, he noted.
The SPEA had earlier warned of strict penalties, including cancellation of licences, against school managements that are sacking teachers, cutting salaries or forcing them to go on unpaid leave.