Kristen Gyles | Why are teachers still leaving?

So, as it turns out, while Jamaican teachers are leaving the country in droves for employment in the United States, Canada, Japan and other developed economies, Jamaica has managed to attract teaching talent from countries like Cuba, Ghana and the Philippines, according to recent announcements from the education ministry.

How? What is it that is attracting foreign teachers to Jamaica that somehow has little to no power on Jamaican teachers? Are those attractive things present in the United States, Canada and Japan? And if so, why do the Cuban, Ghanaian and Filipino teachers choose to come to Jamaica and not to journey elsewhere with the many disgruntled Jamaican teachers?

In light of the fairly recent public sector wage restructuring exercise that saw teachers, along with other public sector workers taking home increased salaries, we need to examine what it is that teachers are really upset about. If teachers are now migrating at only a slightly lower rate than the rate of migration prior to the increase in salaries, then maybe there is more to teacher disillusionment than meets the eye.

THEORY

Here is a theory:

If you increase all salaries, but at very unequal rates, those who benefit from the lowest increases, though better off, will still feel undervalued and underappreciated.

The public sector wage restructuring costed the government roughly $120 billion for the 2022/23 to 2024/25 three-year period and yet has left many professional groups more disgruntled than before. While the new compensation system is simpler, more straightforward and more transparent, it has fuelled a greater sense of inequity by raising questions about the fairness of the increases granted. While principals, vice principals and master teachers, along with leaders in other professions have benefited from massive increases, those at the lower levels have seen much lower increases to their compensation.

Perhaps this is the real reason teacher migration continues. If teachers are genuinely valued, their compensation should reflect that. Unfortunately, when teachers look around them at other professional groups, they realise it is more profitable to either pursue careers in other fields or pursue teaching opportunities in other countries. Increasing salaries for teachers may have helped teachers to pay their bills more comfortably but it did not address the feelings of unappreciation since following the restructuring, they are still among some of the lowest paid.

We are great at heaping praises and thanks on our teachers for their selfless dedication. When it comes on to lovely speeches about how teachers are the backbone of society and the like, politicians and society leaders do an immaculate job. However, all the incessant praising and buttering up is only necessary to overcompensate for the inadequacy teachers feel on account of relatively low wages. There is no national or international Judges Day, Bank Managers Day or CEOs Day because, well, the salaries associated with those jobs are enough to make those who occupy them feel super special. No words or long speeches needed. No juice, cake or goody bags required.

SERIOUS EXAMINATION

While it’s understandable that the Government needs to address the demands of many groups who all want a sizeable share of public funds, there has to be a serious examination of national priorities. The focus cannot be primarily on increasing compensation for principals when it is teachers who are complaining bitterly about the cost of living crisis. The focus also cannot be primarily on increasing compensation for principals when the country is facing high illiteracy and innumeracy levels. If there is truly a perceived crisis in the education sector, then why not act like it?

Underlying the issue of inequitable compensation is the belief that those at the bottom of the compensation ladder have limited options. Governments over the years appear to have assumed that teachers will accept whatever is offered, as if they have no alternative. The year after year migration to greener pastures is symbolic of a rejection by Jamaican teachers of the notion that they are at the mercy of the Jamaican Government.

Further, negative views about the teaching profession have become societal, so teachers have little support from the wider society on the issue of compensation. There is a prevailing belief that teaching is an easy job and that really, teachers only find it challenging because they aren’t smart enough or lack adequate education themselves. Another unstated view is that teachers exist primarily to babysit students while parents are at work and that really teachers are not very highly skilled in their subject areas. Yet, when students struggle academically, teachers are still blamed.

A lot is expected of teachers, who bear a lot of undue criticism. Perhaps the migration is in hopes that appreciation will be greater elsewhere. Teacher migration may reflect not just a quest for better pay but also a desire for greater respect. In any case, with increased respect will come better pay.

And this leads into the original question. How are we able to attract teachers from other countries? Are Jamaican teachers simply more demanding than some of their foreign counterparts or has the Government found additional resources to attract foreign talent? Is it teachers that get scant respect in Jamaica or just Jamaica-born teachers?

Kristen Gyles is a free-thinking public affairs opinionator. Send feedback to kristengyles@gmail.com and columns@gleanerjm.com