KINGSTON, Jamaica – Schools in the United Kingdom will have to recruit hundreds of foreign teachers to plug chronic shortages in mathematics and physics departments, a leaked Government memo suggests, according to Dailymail UK.

One of the stated problems is said to be the recovering economy, which has meant specialists from that country can earn more outside of teaching.

The UK’s Department for Education has launched a programme to attract teachers from abroad as schools struggle to recruit locally.

Sixty-six Jamaican teachers were recently recruited by two London academies and over the next year officials could advertise in other EU countries, as well as in China and Singapore – both of which are at the top of international league tables for math and science.

A spokesman from the UK’s Department of Education said: “Schools have always been able to recruit teachers from overseas. Outstanding math and physics teachers are in demand across the globe and, where schools wish to recruit from overseas, we want to ensure they are able to do so from those countries whose education standards are as high as our own.”