In January, scores of language teachers were interviewed for the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme. They hoped to be recruited as assistant language teachers in Japan. The start of the 2016/17 academic year found many schools administrators grappling with the void created by the resignations of some of their most qualified teachers, among them teachers of mathematics and science who were recruited by international agencies.

At that time, chief education officer in the Ministry of Education Dr Grace McLean indicated that there were approximately 50 such vacancies in the public education system. But why are they migrating?

Qualitative interviews were conducted with selected teachers of mathematics and science to determine the basis for their decision to emigrate. A second interview was done with some who left in 2015/16 but returned prematurely.

Money talks

Living from ‘hand to mouth’ is a real concern among Jamaican civil servants; teachers are no exception. Many lead basic lives and earn just enough to defray the ever-increasing food and utility bills. Many commute via public transportation as they do not own a motor vehicle. Owning a house is one of their biggest challenges. Several teachers cannot afford proper medical care, let alone equally needed recreational activities, such as a vacation.

Financial gain was cited by all but one respondent as the primary pull factor in their decision to migrate. For Mr *Newton, the exceptional respondent, money was his second reason, while international exposure was his first. Nonetheless, they all provided dismal accounts of the financial hardships they had to endure in Jamaica. These included the repayment of personal loans, students’ loans, or otherwise, from a meagre income, and their futile efforts to acquire basic necessities as outlined above. Many expressed that they did odd jobs: extra classes, buying and selling of clothes or simply hustling to make ends meet. Regrettably, they all expressed the negative impact, such as stress and fatigue, that the additional jobs caused and the time had come for them to improve their quality of life.

Although some of them expressed uncertainty about what lay ahead, they were prepared to try anything to elude existing circumstances. They also indicated that the transition itself was fraught with obstacles. This gave rise to the questions: How much does it cost to make money? And, if money is the primary pull factor, why have some teachers relinquished their foreign posts and returned to Jamaica?

A catch-22 situation

The greatest paradox in teachers’ efforts to earn better wages was that they needed a large sum of money to initiate the process. Once they were successfully recruited by agencies they had to apply for work visas. They all found this very costly. Additionally, there was a requisite sum of money that they had to declare in order to proceed. Some of that money was used to pay for processing fees, their health insurance for the entire duration of the contracted stay abroad, travel expenses, and the balance as evidence of being able to support oneself and family, in conjunction with the anticipated income for a three-month period. With the exception of Newton, they all borrowed loans. Those who intended to reside with family members already settled abroad had a smaller financial requirement.

Another paradox was the personal sacrifice involved, in that the very family members whose lives they sought to improve and to share life with were oftentimes the very ones from whom they had to be separated. From an economic perspective, that merely represented the opportunity cost of their decision to migrate. But for those who had to literally part company with their loved ones and friends, it was a major cost indeed. Recruitment agencies, operating in accordance with immigration laws are more inclined to grant visas to their applicants’ children and married partners. Therefore, more often than not, it is the unmarried applicants that experience the challenge of acquiring visas for their partners and, as such, are forced to embark on their journey alone.

In general, when professionals migrate they have the challenge of making speedy psychological and social adjustments to their new environments. Some encounter language barriers. However, the most significant adjustments teachers have to make relate to the new teaching environment, the student populace, the curriculum, whilst maintaining a high standard of performance and work ethic in their new position.

Patriotism

Jamaican teachers, who train in any of the local teachers’ colleges or tertiary institutions, benefit from a heavily subsidised tuition. Many of them are granted paid study leave. When they decide to teach abroad some people perceive this as unpatriotic, because they believe they should continuously give back to their country instead of pursuing personal gains. But is this valid criticism, given that they are indirectly forced to surrender their local jobs due to low wages? Shouldn’t the criticism be directed at the Government for their inability to sufficiently compensate teachers as a means to retaining the services they offer?

All the teachers refuted the idea that they were unpatriotic. They readily expressed loyalty to their country but emphasised that they were free to make life choices, such as where they live and work. Their choice is perfectly summarised by Aristotle, who said “It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen.”

Mr *Locus, a maths teacher, commented: “If I’m in a country and I don’t think opportunities exist for my upward mobility (and that of my family) I have a duty to seek out opportunities that will improve my situation.”

Certainly, they were all cognisant of Jamaica’s fiscal constraints. However, it was clear that an understanding of the country’s predicament did not make their personal frustrations any less disheartening.

The truth is, individuals migrate for myriad personal factors that may have nothing to with economic or social ills within their homeland. However, where professionals continue to migrate year after year, citing financial hardships and the lack of opportunities as the primary reasons, it speaks to a problem inherent in that geographical space, whether or not it can be managed by the Government. As such, any criticisms in the Jamaican teacher brain drain issue should be directed at the Government. Furthermore, according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, they are obligated to provide jobs for citizens, among other things. And job should be interpreted to mean an income that is sufficient enough to lead a productive life with an acceptable standard of living within the said country.

For years the Jamaican education system has seen the effects of teacher brain drain to countries like the US and England. The truth is, these countries continue to have vacancies because they’re also affected by the same problem. Last year, the British media, citing International School Consultancy figures, highlighted that some 18,000 UK teachers had left England in 2015 alone and, for the period 2014-2015, there was an estimated 100,000 working full-time in the international sector.

In his response, Sir Michael Wilshaw, then chief inspector of British schools, in the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), reportedly stated that England had become “the world’s biggest exporter of teaching talent.” Isn’t that precisely what the Jamaican Minister of Education would say?

Sir Wilshaw also stated that their qualified teachers were being lured away by “enticing offers of competitive, usually tax-free salaries, free accommodation, and often the prospect of working in warmer, sunnier climes” which in turn forced them to look to countries like Jamaica for recruitment.

Teacher recruitment agencies

Staff recruitment is a significant function of school administrators; however, it can be a tedious and time-consuming process. So this is where teacher recruitment agencies play their greatest role, that is, to find the most suitable teachers wherever they are in the world to fill specific vacancies for schools.

Hourglass Education, based in England, has been recruiting teachers from Jamaica for the past 16 years. Speaking with Managing Director Geoff Brown, last September, he described Jamaican teachers as competent, dedicated and hard-working. He explained why Jamaican teachers gravitated towards England.

Firstly, he highlighted those areas which Jamaican teachers found discouraging: “A class size of 50-60 pupils; very little resources; limited IT equipment and a very small salary.” He contrasted this to an excellent wage package for newly recruited teachers; an annual gross salary of £30,000 tax-free for two full years; thereafter £23,000. He hypothesised a married couple both working as teachers would take in “two times £30,000”.

He promoted the British’s class size of approximately 25 pupils; a high-tech classroom with a wide variety of instructional resources, adding that their schools were purpose-built. He also mentioned that every six weeks of school was followed by a one-week break. He highlighted the prospects of self-actualising in England, as teachers had the opportunity to pursue a masters’ degree in their field of specialisation, with expenses fully-paid. To top it off, he emphasized the speed with which a home and a car could be acquired. Last but not least, Mr. Brown stated that after five years of teaching in England, teachers could apply for permanent residence, that is, Indefinite Leave to Remain. His vivid description of the prospects for teachers working in England resonated when he said, “They can’t lose by coming here…they can only gain.”

Salary boost

The salaries for newly recruited teachers who migrated to the US and England were indeed significantly higher than their local pay. For the US respondents, they were earning an average annual income of US$35,000; however, the annual income for the UK respondents varied with Mr *Newton and Mr *Locus earning the highest, as much as £33,000 and £35,000 respectively. The lowest UK income cited was just under £27,000. All the respondents were earning just over $1 million Jamaicans annually at the point of their resignation. Nevertheless, it ‘appeared’ that there was some trend in the award of salaries to UK-based teachers, in that, those who earned the highest sums in England were actually earning the highest incomes in Jamaica prior to migrating and vice versa. These were also the teachers who had approximately 10 years of service in the Jamaican classroom.

Reality hits

Sometimes teachers migrate with great optimism for their new jobs, only to realise that things are not what they expected. So they do their next best and come right back to their homeland. They return from the US, England, Japan, etc. The experiences of two respondents that brought an abrupt end to their teaching contracts in England are outlined below. Both teachers were recruited via Hourglass Education but returned home within six months of their initial three-year contract period:

*Newton, a trained graduate physics teacher explained that he found the work schedule to be overwhelmingly hectic. He taught a total of 13 classes between split campuses, from grade seven right up to 13. He also had two form classes, one on each campus; so he had to commute back and forth. He said the stress level was extremely high, emphasising that he taught for 25 hours each week, not inclusive of canteen duty for which he was also scheduled.

He explained that prior to resigning from his Jamaican post and migrating, there was an ‘expressed commitment’ that he would teach physics to grades 12 and 13 only. However, upon arrival, he found himself teaching 11 classes at lower school, something he was not accustomed to, with only two classes at the expected grade levels. Even worse, he explained that, he was not only teaching physics, but chemistry and biology too. All science subjects were taught as distinct subjects, even in lower school, he explained. There was no general science.

*Newton also highlighted the difficulties he had with an unfamiliar teaching style that he was expected to employ. Coupled with that, he complained that the physics curriculum was under-challenging. Still yet, he argued that the students simply could not grasp the concepts. He summarised his overall experience in the school as “modern-day slavery”.

Ms *Ions, a trained graduate teacher of chemistry shared a similar experience. She expressed the difficulty she encountered teaching all three sciences, particularly physics. She said biology was manageable but for physics, “It’s like I had to teach myself for each lesson in order to be able to teach them.” She also had a hectic teaching schedule of 11 classes. The prescribed teaching method was also new to her and she had a difficulty adjusting to it. She did not like the chemistry curriculum as it included too many advanced concepts, especially for the lower grades. Moreover, she claimed that the pre-determined content to be covered per class was simply too much for the allotted time.

She described her students as lazy, lacking in focus and most all very indiscipline. She said there was no enthusiasm on their part so motivating them to learn difficult concepts was overwhelming. She said she found herself ‘spoon-feeding’ them yet they still found the concepts difficult. With the classroom frustrations and the absence of her partner, she soon found herself yearning to return to Jamaica.

Several respondents acknowledged that they had to adjust to teaching all three sciences, irrespective of which one they taught in Jamaica. In fact, even a few Maths teachers ended up teaching science classes. Of course, they were certified in the areas. However, it was very disconcerting, especially for those who had never taught physics beyond teaching practice. It was the hardest of the three to adjust to.

*Newton highlighted a high frequency of indiscipline that was meted out to Jamaican teachers and himself almost on a daily basis. He said, “Think of the worst school in Jamaica and those students are worse.” He lamented the fact that students could say just about anything that came to their mouths and get away with it; whilst teachers would be reprimanded and even logged if they simply told students to shut up. His voice froze when he recounted an incident where a teacher of maths; after reprimanding a student, was told to “remember you’re at the bottom of the food chain”.

Irrespective of what the student meant, he felt that there was truth to it because internationally recruited teachers, irrespective of their level of qualifications at the time of recruitment; were always placed at the lowest level of the teacher qualification (salary) scale; that is, ‘unqualified teacher status..’ He said Jamaican teachers periodically convened and discussed occurrences in their respective schools, and this issue was one of the sore points. Some teachers were also concerned that they were constantly being asked to do just about any and every non-instructional related job that the administrators felt they should do. This was in direct contrast to what the directly-employed teachers were asked to do, they said.

Several Jamaican teachers were disappointed and genuinely wanted to return. However, they remained for various reasons, such as: they wanted to acquire UK permanent status; they felt embarrassed to return; it would be impossible to repay the hefty loans they borrowed from a Jamaican income; whilst others who travelled with minors found it unsettling to relocate and enrol their children into new schools.

Like other respondents who opted to return, *Newton and *Ions are back in the secondary school system. Both are happy working with their lower salary and their Jamaican students. Although the quest for international exposure was short-lived, *Newton returned with an informed perspective of the brain-drain crisis, its impact on the local community and some of the unexpected realities that confront immigrants in the foreign country. Although he hasn’t ruled out teaching overseas in the future, he believes that both the Ministry of Education and the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) have a major role to play regarding the sporadic, massive and ad hoc recruitment of Jamaican teachers.

The response

When asked why some teachers opted to return to Jamaica Brown blamed it on their lackadaisical approach to the new environment; explaining that males in particular did not do what was required of them; had a narrow view of the world and were not prepared to be flexible. He stated, “The men are so laid back they are horizontal.” He reasoned that four out of every five Jamaican teachers that exited the programme were males. Adding that, those who really wanted to make the best of the opportunity in England needed to “roll their sleeves up and make greater strides”.

Indeed, some teachers have returned to Jamaica disillusioned. However, this should not suggest that the majority of Jamaican teachers who migrate are unhappy in their placement. Neither should it suggest that others won’t migrate tomorrow morning if given the chance. The truth is, several teachers are anxiously hoping to leave Jamaica for Dubai, Japan, England, or wherever the grass seems greener.

The way forward

All the teachers who were interviewed indicated that they would have stayed in Jamaica had their salary been better. Clearly, any efforts to curtail the migration of Jamaica’s best assets, the teachers, must start with their income. Otherwise, there remains a high probability that more teachers will continue to migrate in pursuit of greater opportunities. There has been dialogue about a special incentive for maths and science teachers that might encourage a few of them to reconsider migrating but this has implications for teachers in other disciplines.

Responding to the issue, Byron Farquharson, general secretary in the JTA not only endorsed the suggestion of better wages for teachers but added that the government should also consider providing incentives such as reduced mortgages, access to government lands and houses, scholarships, duty concessions and improved facilities in the classroom. He believes these would translate to an improvement in the economic well-being of teachers in general, and also encourage others to rethink their plans to migrate.

Until a mutually rewarding solution is found what is the government’s next move? Should they continue to invest in teacher training programmes to produce competent, dedicated and hard-working teachers; only to have them recruited? Is there a better way? Is there a possibility that some teachers could be trained locally with the sole intention of being marketed (deployed) abroad? So, at the end of the programme, instead of receiving certification from the Joint Board of Teacher Education, teachers prepared for deployment in a British classroom would receive certification via the National College for Teaching & Leadership in Britain. The Jamaican Government would have greater control over the recruitment process and could be paid for supplying teachers. Of course, this has implications too, however, one thing for certain: It would eliminate the issue of an unqualified teacher status for newly recruited teachers, as in England. The income generated through this collaborative venture would be managed by the Jamaican Government.

*Names changed to protect identities.

Verona Antoine-Smith is a teacher in a public secondary school. She holds a master’s degree in educational administration. Send comments to the Observer or bergirls@hotmail.com.