Some members of parliament recently suggested the idea of government rolling out special incentives for teachers to help uplift their welfare, which, they say will go a long way in boosting the quality of education in the country.
The suggested incentives include a special duty free shop where teachers can buy groceries at subsidized prices, and providing their children with free education.
The MPs' proposals last week, on Friday, June 12, during the approval of an assessment report on issues affecting quality education, follow a request of a monthly minimum salary Rwf80,000 for a primary school teacher by the National Union of Teachers in Rwanda (SNER) in 2016.
"Because a teacher gets a low salary, we should probably think of something like Umwalimu Shop to help them easily access basic groceries for their families which whelp to improve the quality of education," he said.
Umwalimu SACCO offers loans to teachers based on their salary at relatively lower interest rate of 11 percent - compared to loans from other commercial banks whose interest rate is between 14 per cent and 20 per cent
"If I get a loan, and say Rwf25,000 is deducted from my monthly salary to pay back the loan, I will be getting Rwf25,000 per month, which cannot cover my basic needs such as accommodation and meals," he said.
