Dear Editor,
For the first time we learnt from page 17 of SN April 26, 2012, what the salary of a Regional Executive Officer was. The report reveals the following:
i) Regional Chairmen – $218,278
ii) Regional Vice Chairmen – $163,709
iii) Regional Executive Officers – $247,526
The impression given is that all REOs are paid at the same rate, irrespective of the size of the individual regional administrations.
According to the National Estimates all regional administrations except Regions 1, 7, 8 and 10, are composed of five programmes, namely, Administration and Finance; Agriculture; Public Works; Education Delivery; and Health Services. The four regions mentioned are not assigned an Agriculture Programme to be supervised.
In looking at the relativities in pay one notes that the public service position of Deputy Regional Executive Officer is graded GS 12 ($186,665 – $328,722) in the salary structure which ranges from GS 1-14 (Permanent Secretary). It could fairly be assumed therefore that his senior would be placed at GS 13 – $236,276-$416,080, within which the amount of $247,526 would fall. Since various appointees would very likely have served for differing periods, it is quite reasonable to expect that they would climb the scale (which in any case is adjusted following annual across-the-board increases). It defies reason that all REOs are paid at the same rate, as hinted.
Not irrelevant to rates of pay, however, is the qualification factor. The nature of the recruitment process provides no indication as to the criteria for selection and appointment.
One reason this is a matter of some concern derives from the comparison with the educational standards and experience required of those in the teaching profession, for clearly inequitable remuneration.
Just check out the following:
Principal of Cyril Potter College of Education – a post that requires a Master’s Degree plus five years as Vice Principal – is paid at the fixed rate (2011) at $204,126, derisibly described as a Special Grade.
Further the teaching profession is not automatically entitled to the (annual) across-the-board increases as do the mass of under-achieving counterparts in the public service.
Vice Principal, CPCE – requires a Master’s Degree plus three years as Senior Lecturer. The current salary scale is TS19 – $180,865-194,275. Compare the above with the following public service scales:
GS 11 – $151,634-$252,164, assigned to such positions as Principal Personnel Officer; Principal Assistant Secret-ary; Principal Regional Develop- ment Officer; Manager, Medical Records; Matron I; Legal Assistant to the Chancellor
GS 10 – $120,566-$197,356, assigned to such positions as Systems Development Coordinator; Audit Manager; Senior Foreign Service Officer I; Legal/Administrative Officer; Assistant Airport Manager; Senior Health Visitor.
The comparabilities become increasingly discouraging as one moves down to the positions of Senior Lecturer (TS 15), Lecturer II (TS 12) and Lecturer I (TS 8) all of which can only be filled by trained graduate teachers (not unusually with a first degree), with the very minimum of five years experience in the grade immediately below. Add the responsibilities they must discharge to a multidimensional clientele, and targets to be achieved on schedule. Note, however, the wide gaps between the respective scales, all of whose numbers can be found in the Budget 2012.
Unlike their public service counterparts the teaching profession is generally subject to structured performance evaluation, and promotion can be a highly competitive process.
These professionals who comprise the foundation of the country’s human development, do not enjoy the benefit of contract employment, and must therefore agonise when they see those with unverified qualifications, and who have no explicit performance standards to satisfy, enjoying the comparative luxury of undisclosed generosity.
The final reverberation from the penury in which education is steeped, is the programming of our young generations to view their society with one dimmed and diminished eye, and to listen only to the sounds emitting from the same projection.
In researching the above, however, one was amazed to discover that the following sample of jobs was graded even below that of Deputy Regional Executive Officer – at Grade GS 11: Senior Psychiatrist; Senior Radiologist & Therapy Officer; Senior Anaesthetist; Senior Obstetrician/ Gynae-cologist; Senior Opthamologist; Senior Patholo-gist; Senior Physician; and Senior Surgeon.
To these personnel at least, it must make the point of the non-scientific approach to evaluating public service jobs. Their comfort however lies in being all paid as ‘contracted employees’ – irrelevant of the scale.
Yours faithfully,
E B John
