While the rest of the country analyses the national matric results, politician and public figure Mmusi Maimane has caused quite a stir on X (formerly Twitter) with his stance, claiming he believes that teachers should be earning as much as doctors.
Since his days as a member of Helen Zille’s Democratic Alliance (DA), Mmusi has always been regarded as a controversial figure, as often the case with being a politician, but in Mmusi’s case, one might credit it to being a black politician in a predominantly white political party, causing his fellow black people to question where his loyalties lie.
The Build One South Africa (BOSA) leader has consistently embraced his role as a controversial figure and used it to his advantage to not only form his own party but establish a significant following, through voicing his unpopular and controversial takes.
This time, he took to his X (formerly Twitter) to express that he believes that teachers should be paid the same salaries as doctors; to properly signify the important and impactful work they do all year round, annually. According to Mmusi, this is an opportunity to shine a light on the importance of teachers, as they are so often overlooked and under-appreciated in society, among this, most of these instances are evident at the workplace where their salaries do not reflect the work and effort they put in.
Furthermore, he added that he also believes that teachers also deserved to be paid more than members of parliament.
Teachers should be paid as much as doctors.
— Mmusi Maimane MP (@MmusiMaimane) January 14, 2025
Let’s talk about it. Teachers should earn more than members of parliament. https://t.co/CJ0xtEOU5b
— Mmusi Maimane MP (@MmusiMaimane) January 15, 2025
It appears the politician has time on his hands lately as he continues to engage both those who agree with his stance and those opposing it, with each side substantiating why they believe they are on the right side of the argument. According to Mmusi, teachers produce all the other professions, and therefore their salaries need to reflect that.
The opposing side however has brought up many factors that have resulted in the wage disparity between these two professions, starting with the amount of years to acquire each qualification, as well as pointing out the obvious factor of the difference in working hours as well as specialisation of each profession.
I grew up as the child of a teacher, and then qualified and worked as a teacher (many years ago). My daughter qualified as a doctor recently, and is now an intern.
I do not agree with your proposition.
I agree that teachers should be well paid, but the academic standards and…
— Michael Atkins (@atkinsmike1) January 14, 2025
Also see: KZN class of 2024 comes out on top as matric results are released
