Recruiting foreign teachers should be last resort, says Weir

 

First Vice President of the Jamaica Association of Principals and Vice Principals, Linton Weir, says the Ministry of Education's efforts to source educators from countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, the Philippines, and India to fill the teacher gap, should be a last resort.

 

The country has been grappling with a shortage of teachers, especially in mathematics and the sciences.

 

This has forced the ministry to employ various methods to assist schools, including an expanded international recruitment programme.

 

But Mr. Weir is concerned about difficulties in communication that may arise among students and teachers from other countries. 

 

"I had three or four individuals from India and that was a challenge. It took some time for the students to understand what they were saying, so I know we're going to have the language barrier. And that is why for me, I am saying, we need to explore the other options that are available; then those individuals who are coming from the different countries, that should be the very last resort," he contended. 

 

In the meantime, Mr. Weir said he is not aware whether teachers recruited from overseas have arrived on the island.

 

He added that retired teachers are not taking up the ministry's offer to return to the classroom.