PHILIPSBURG: --- The 2025 indexation payment for subsidized schoolteachers remains unpaid, leaving hundreds of dedicated educators questioning whether their government truly values their contributions. The promised 2% indexation has yet to materialize, adding to a growing list of unmet commitments.
This is not an isolated incident but part of a troubling pattern that has become all too familiar. Teachers have already endured:
- The delayed 1% vacation allowance increase.
- The 1% COLA payment, finally disbursed in January 2025 after a long wait.
- The 2% COLA indexation from previous years, which arrived only after months of uncertainty.
Now, as 2025 progresses, teachers are once again left in limbo, waiting for the 2% indexation they were promised. The question is no longer if these payments will be delayed but how long teachers will be forced to wait this time.
FINANCIAL STRAIN TURNING INTO CRISIS
While politicians debate budgets in air-conditioned offices, teachers are left making impossible choices:
- Pay the electricity bill or buy groceries?
- Fill the gas tank or purchase school supplies for their students out of their own pockets?
These are not hypothetical scenarios but the harsh daily reality for educators who have been systematically shortchanged by a system that overpromises and underdelivers.
The cost of living doesn’t pause for bureaucratic delays. Rent is due monthly, not when the government decides it’s convenient to honor its commitments. Inflation doesn’t wait for budget allocations to be sorted out.
A Masterclass in Poor Planning
The Minister of Finance assured the public that provisions for the 2025 COLA were included in the budget. If that’s true, where is the money? If the funds were allocated, why haven’t they been disbursed? And if they weren’t properly allocated despite assurances, who is responsible for this failure?
The excuse that “necessary allocations were not included in the budget” has worn thin. How many times can the same explanation be recycled before it becomes clear that this is either gross incompetence or willful negligence?
The Accountability Gap
School boards point fingers at the government. The government cites budget constraints. Meanwhile, teachers—the backbone of our education system—are left holding empty promises and unpaid bills.
This endless game of passing the buck must end. Someone needs to take ownership of these repeated failures. Someone needs to explain why teachers are consistently treated as second-class government employees, always last in line for the compensation they’ve earned.
Civil Servants vs. Teachers: A Tale of Two Standards
The most infuriating aspect of this situation is the glaring disparity in how civil servants and teachers are treated. When civil servants were granted their COLA adjustments, the payments were processed efficiently. When teachers are promised the same adjustments, delays are inevitable.
This double standard sends a clear message about who the government values and who it considers expendable. Teachers dedicate their lives to educating the next generation, yet they are treated as if their contributions are less valuable than those of their civil servant counterparts.
Enough Is Enough
Teachers deserve better than empty promises and recycled excuses. They deserve transparency about when—not if—they will receive their 2025 COLA payments. They deserve a government that plans properly and honors its commitments.
Most importantly, they deserve respect for the vital work they do every single day, often with limited resources and increasingly challenging conditions.
Time for Action, Not More Words
The solution is straightforward:
- Release the 2025 COLA payments immediately.
- Provide a clear timeline for all outstanding teacher compensation.
- Implement systems to prevent future delays.
- Hold responsible parties accountable for these repeated failures.
Teachers have been patient long enough. They’ve shown understanding through multiple delays and disappointments. They’ve continued to show up for their students even when their government fails to show up for them.
The time for patience has passed. The time for excuses has ended. It’s time for action.
Our teachers educate our children, shape our future, and deserve nothing less than the prompt payment of the compensation they’ve rightfully earned. Anything short of immediate action is a betrayal of the educators who form the foundation of our society.
The government promised. The budget allocated. The teachers waited. Now it’s time to pay up—literally and figuratively.
