Dear Editor,

Many of you probably raised your eyebrows last Sunday when you read through the Careers section of The Gleaner and saw the number of teaching vacancies for September.

You might have given great attention particularly to Central High School, which advertised for approximately 25 teachers, the majority of which are full-time positions. There were a few openings for eight months. Interestingly, also, I could not help but notice that seven teachers are needed for the English language/literature department.

That advert brought my memory back to last year when Mona High School had advertised for a large number of teachers in one go. It is still early days and many more teachers are just waiting until their leaves are approved by the Ministry of Education or for final confirmation from their new overseas employers. Can you imagine what will happen when “Septemba mawnin” comes? Principals may have to scramble to find replacement teachers.

There has always been a shortage of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers, and the education ministry has devised plans to help fill this gap, such as offering full tuition scholarships for students who wish to study in this domain. However, since recently, we have noticed that STEM is in a neck-and-neck competition with English and modern languages (French and Spanish, primarily) as many more of these educators are expanding their horizons.

There are no borders when it comes to teaching. The novel coronavirus pandemic has broadened our perspectives in that regard. All that is required is a functional device and access to proper internet connection. I taught many students who were in various parts of the world using this method.

Now that the pandemic is behind us and many teachers in developed countries continue to abandon the teaching profession, more Jamaican educators, including lecturers, are migrating to fill these posts. It is also noteworthy that other countries in the region and on the African continent continue to experience the mass migration of their best teachers. The British Virgin Islands, for example, is seeking to recruit recent high school graduates to mitigate the shortfall in their country.

Teachers from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and other countries are also leaving their countries, primarily for the United Kingdom. They, like some Jamaicans, have even greater reasons to leave as the Department of Education is offering a £10,000 relocation package to attract science and language teachers.

In the midst of all of this, Canada continues to relax its immigration procedures to attract skilled professional to their country. People who speak French have a greater advantage.

Given that the borders are now open, teachers have access to so many opportunities, even as far as in Kuwait. The Far East is a space to watch, as there has been a gradual build-up of a Jamaican community there.

Teachers also realise that they do not have to teach. Ideologies of patriotism and loyalty to a profession are now through the door.

Although developed countries come with their fair share of challenges, our teachers are seeing the broader picture of having better compensation and teaching resources, more travel and immersion opportunities, better quality of life and, of course, the possibility of securing residency and citizenship.

The world is your oyster, so why not seize the opportunities?

Oneil Madden

maddenoneil@yahoo.com