The exodus of teachers for overseas classroom means a decline in our education system say some pundits. Others see the issue differently. It means, says one human resource expert that instead of being the victims
of globalisation we can prepare ourselves so that we gain from it.
NEWSPAPER ADS bring the
invitations.
The enticing ones.
They beckon with offers
of fat salaries and sweet dreams of
a better life.
So convincing are they that thousands of teachers line up for a chance to make it to greener pastures. Last year, for example, an estimated 500 took off for the United States (US) and England.
Behind them they leave poorly paid jobs, meagre classroom resources, and a nation wringing its hands in angst at their loss. Teachers, principals and agencies like the Jamaica Teachers Association (JTA) at the start of last school year made an outcry about the disruptive impact on schools, pointing to hundreds of vacancies, particularly in the areas of English, Science and Mathematics.
Education Minister Burchell Whiteman at first downplayed the flight of teachers, but later seemed to backtrack, saying, "we are not happy with the recruitment to begin in January because that inevitably disrupts our
system and depending on the level of recruitment it could disrupt it quite
significantly."
Still, this is short term pain for what could be long term gain say some of the economists, human resource professionals and teachers that spoke to Lifestyle recently.
Economist Ralston Hyman said while teacher migration may hurt us in the short term, in the long run it could turn out to be a tremendous economic benefit to a country grappling with a high rate of unemployment. It represents an export of services that come back in the form of remittances. It helps to drive the economy in real terms, he said.
"Jamaicans who go overseas are a very loyal group and they send back the money, although we tend to downplay the importance of remittances and behave like it is charity. We have
to remember that over the last two
years remittances averaged about one billion dollars per year and in net terms it is the country's highest foreign exchange earner."
He noted that for the final three months of last year, remittance flows to Jamaica increased by almost 15 per cent to $254.2 million when compared to the same period the year before. This is especially significant because during this post-September 11 period, there was a significant fallout in the tourism sector, and remittances helped to make up for it.
Remittances play a crucial role in meeting Jamaica's foreign exchange needs because of the weakness of the island's export sector. Mr. Hyman noted that on a personal level money sent from abroad goes into paying school fees, covering health costs, building homes and taking care of other needs.
The economist added that based on the current trend, if nothing changes, remittances are expected to increase by 15 per cent per year. However, "if we were to train more teachers and nurses for which there is a definite international need, then we could easily see another 15 per cent increase in remittances," he said.
Human resource professional Hilary Robertson-Hickling, has another twist.
Jamaica has been officially exporting workers to labour in the bowels of the canefields in the southern US and the fruit orchards of southern Ontario. "We have always been a nation of migrants," said Mrs. Robertson-Hickling, a lecturer in the Department of Management Studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI). The difference now, she added, is that the island is exporting intellectual workers instead of unskilled labour.
Plus, she added, "instead of being the victims of globalisation we have to prepare ourselves so that we gain from it.
"If labourers are no longer in demand overseas, but skilled professionals are, then we have decide to train an excess number of these professionals and create a brain gain rather than suffer from a brain drain."
Ralston Hyman agreed: "Jamaica
cannot only continue to export primary products like bananas and sugar. We have to focus on exporting services. We have the competitive advantage in this area."
While they see the benefits of teacher migration, in the long run, some like the JTA say what concerns them is what happens now.
"When they (teachers) go it
shouldn't hurt us," said JTA president Paul Adams. "We should have the
type of replacements that we need,
and therefore it would not leave a
gap in our system."
He says good CXC and A' levels teachers for especially the sciences are hard to come by and when you lose
a teacher who is familiar with the
syllabus, even a teacher who graduates from the university with a Master's Degree in the area cannot fill that slot. It will take at least two or three years to deliver the curriculum the way you would really want it.
He says there is no problem finding bodies to replace those who have left but there is an issue with finding quality teachers to replace the experienced ones often "the brightest and the best."
Lloyd Fearon, Principal of St. George's College in Kingston knows this only too well. While most Corporate Area schools which spoke
to Lifestyle last week, had lost four teachers or less to overseas classrooms, St. George's lost 13 one to the Bahamas, three to the United Kingdom and nine to the US.
"Apparently the recruiting agencies target teachers with first degrees and we are big on staff development," Mr. Fearon said, adding that up to last year almost nine out of 10 teachers at the school had 1st degrees and were also trained teachers the combination most sough by overseas recruiters.
Despite the losses, Mr. Fearon noted that when school reopened last September it had filled all the vacancies -- although not with experienced
teachers in every case.
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
President of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools, Brady Gayle said the panic caused by the exodus of teachers could be much ado about nothing. There is a large
pool of bright and energetic university graduates who are willing to teach, and if they get the appropriate training and guidance, they can go a far way to fill the gap that migrating teachers leave behind, he believes.
"In August and September, there was this trepidation that we were going to collapse and we didn't. Schools had been putting in place training programmes for pre-trained graduates (teachers with a university degree but
no teacher-training qualification). People were being proactive they weren't waiting for the ship to sink."
He says although teachers are expected to continue to go overseas, principals don't seem to be panicking over it.
"We had a retreat (of 70 principals) over the weekend," he said in an interview a week ago, "and Principals were asked to list their concerns. Teacher migration wasn't on the list. Neither did I hear it in the casual conversations," he said.
"In a way we should be glad that our teachers are sufficiently trained and skilled that other people want to use them in their system," added Mr. Brady who taught for five years in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Plus, exposure to other systems of education is good for them, he reckons.
In the meantime many of the teachers who have left say they are pleased with the opportunities now in front of them. Luke Williams, who has 12 years in the classroom is now on staff at Central Foundation Girls' School in East London since last September. His salary is five times what he used to earn as a teacher of English, history and drama in Jamaica, he said. "But living in London is expensive so rent is what really milks your money, after that you are left with little or nothing, but still it can do more for you than what your earnings in Jamaica could do."
Money, said Mr. Williams, was not his main reason for leaving. He wanted the opportunity to study, he said. "I start post-Grad studies in October," he said, "and it's cheaper for me because I will be considered a temporary resident. If I was an international student I would have to pay three times the figure that I'm paying."
He added that he was also benefiting professionally from exposure to their system.
"I know that when I return to Jamaica I will not be teaching the same way," he said. "Mind you, a lot of the methodologies, which I took here, work and I'm not throwing that out. But with what I've learnt I will take the best from both worlds."
FOUR OF THE BENEFITS TO TEACHER MIGRATION
1. It presents an opportunity for us to train large numbers of teaching professionals and fill the international demand, hence cornering a market in which we already have a competitive edge.
2. We are providing a service for the Jamaican population overseas, which has many under performing children.
3. Exporting highly skilled professionals helps to change perception of underachievement often associated with migratory people.
4.Provides teachers
with better opportunities for further studies and development.
