KINGSTON, Jamaica – Teacher attrition is a “very serious problem” in Jamaica according to Opposition Senator, Damion Crawford, who has accused the Minister of Education, Fayval Williams of not being truthful about the actual number of teachers leaving the education system.

Crawford, who is also the People’s National Party Spokesman on Education, Training and Competitiveness, made the accusation during his recent contribution to the State of the Nation Debate in the Senate.

He noted that during a press briefing just before the start of the current school year, Williams stated that 248 teachers had resigned from the public school system between July and September.

“Nowhere in that (press briefing) were we told that in 2021/22, 1,310 teachers resigned. We’re not talking about the other 435 that retired. The country was being given the image that this is in line with the norm,” Crawford stated. He pointed out that in total, 1,745 teachers left the profession while 1,098 entered during the same period, “a deficit of almost 700”.

The opposition spokesman said that while the numbers provided by the Ministry of Education suggests that in 2019/2020 there were 390 teacher resignations, there nearly 1,000 more resignations in 2019 and nearly 600 more in 2020.

Crawford highlighted that when a teacher in a secondary school resigns, having had responsibility for four classes of 40 students each, the impact is felt by 160 students.

Crawford, who himself teaches/lectures, said a principal of a high school in Montego Bay recently told him that his physical education teacher had been teaching mathematics for the past three years. He noted that teachers have indicated that their reasons for resigning include their inability to experience a decent quality of life on their current salaries. He cited their inability to own a motor vehicle or a house as major turn offs for teachers.

Hundreds of Jamaicans teachers have over the years left for greener pastures to countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom.