The lack of 44 teachers for the upcoming school year (see related story) is a matter of great concern. Education Minister Wycliffe Smith was correct in saying this remains a global headache, but that doesn’t make it any less serious.
It regards a range of subjects in both primary and secondary education. If these vacancies aren’t filled in time, that could mean classes being doubled or teachers doubling up.
The shortage is usually addressed by the end of the calendar year, but who suffer in the interim are the students, as the minister himself pointed out. It’s also a longstanding issue, which a quick search of this newspaper’s website confirmed.
At the start of school in August 2011 Milton Peters College (MPC) was missing an English teacher for its TKL steam, while two others were on maternity leave.
Then-Education Minister Silveria Jacobs told Parliament in November 2012 that government would initiate its recruitment campaign for teachers in January and work with University of St. Martin (USM) on making more use of home-grown teachers.
Students of the Social Pedagogical Workers (SPW) programme at National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA) complained in January 2015 that they had been without care, math and art teachers since April of the previous year.
The problem was compounded by the impact of Hurricane Irma last September when, according to the Dutch Ministry of Education, 80 to 100 teachers left the island. An unknown number later returned, but apparently not all.
When then-Finance Minister Mike Ferrier announced at the end of March that there would be austerity measures in the public sector, Windward Islands Chamber of Labour Unions (WICLU) president Claire Elshot warned that with an already existing teacher shortage at all levels it would not be wise to subject them to cuts. A few days later then-Education Minister Jorien Wuite urged school boards to start their recruitment for the 2018-2019 academic year, saying this had always been a challenge.
Her successor Smith also referred to the responsibility of the subsidised school boards, while ultimately more local youngsters need to desire a career in teaching. Of the 122 high school graduates who received study financing this year only 13 are pursuing a degree in what he called the “noble profession.”
Government is trying to promote increased interest in becoming educators among the local youth. That may be a tall order, as other countries have found, but a concerted effort is clearly called for.
