§ 37. Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the wages paid monthly to white and coloured teachers in the schools controlled by the Bermuda Government; what qualifications are required by teachers; and what facilities exist in Bermuda for coloured students to obtain the necessary qualifications to obtain equal financial status with white teachers.
§ Mr. ProfumoAs the answer to the first part of the Question involves a number of figures I am with permission circulating them in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
The rates in the schools in question vary according to qualifications and length of experience but not according to colour. Teachers vary in qualifications from those without any professional training to those with university degrees and further post-graduate training.
The Board of Education instituted scholarships for the training of teachers in 1931. Thirteen such scholarships are now available annually and are, since there are no universities or teacher training institutions in Bermuda, tenable in Canada or the United Kingdom. Twenty-one white people and 137 coloured people have already been trained under this scheme.
§ Mr. AllaunMay I thank the Minister for that reply and ask whether he will encourage the payment of higher salaries for entrants into the teaching profession, since in many cases the salaries are lower than those for domestic workers?
§ Mr. ProfumoThat is a wide question. The Question which the hon. Member put down was whether there was any differentiation between white and coloured, and I have answered that.
§ Following is the information:
§ Teachers' salaries in schools controlled by the Bermuda Government are paid on a scale approved by the Legislature with due regard to qualification and length of experience. These scales are as follows:
| Head Teachers | |
| Men | £1,010 to £1,510 per annum |
| Women | £950 to £1,450 per annum |
§ In addition £50 per annum is payable to a teacher in possession of an approved university degree; £75 per annum for a postgraduate teachers' diploma and £100 per annum for an honours degree or its equivalent. Subject to ten years or more satisfactory teaching service in Bermuda non-pensionable allowances are paid at the following rates:
| 10 years' service | … | £30 |
| 15 years Service | … | £45 |
| 20 years service | … | £60 |
§ Assistant Teachers
§ Salaries from £300 for non-certificated teachers to £1,032 per annum (men) and £972 per annum (women) are paid to teachers with an approved post-graduate teachers' diploma. Those holding an approved honours degree or its equivalent receive an additional £20 per annum. Non-pensionable allowances after ten or more years' satisfactory teaching service in Bermuda are paid as follows:
| 10 years' service | … | £18 to £27 |
| 15 years service | … | £27 to £40 |
| 20 years service | … | £36 to £54 |
§ Both head and assistant teachers who are appointed from abroad for the first time, and are not, or do not become, domiciled in Bermuda are paid an expatriate allowance of £100 per annum diminishing annually over a period of five years after which none is payable.
§ Footnote
§ All salaries and allowances with the exception of the expatriate allowance are subject to a 15 per cent. bonus at the present time.