Last October 5, which was Teachers’ Day, our thoughts were again focused on the state of education, specifically at the primary level, and on the plight of teachers and children, many of whom are deprived of access to schooling. As many now know, although the country has done quite well in the attainment of at least five of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the three most important ones — poverty, maternal mortality, and education — have yet to be realized. A paper by Briones (Philippine Institute of Development Studies, 2014) had drawn a scenario which showed that the goal for education may be attained by 2025, maternal health by 2021. However, the goal for poverty will not be achieved by 2025 (Briones, Philippine Institute of Development Studies, 2014).
About 124 million children and young adolescents are still denied a basic education and millions of others are leaving school without acquiring fundamental skills such as reading and mathematics. This is according to a report by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics which also noted that the world will need to recruit 25.8 million teachers to provide every child with a primary education by 2030. This total includes the creation of new posts and the replacement of 22.6 million teachers who are expected to leave the profession. In the country, there are only five teachers per 1,000 pupils in primary education.
The Philippines is also among the countries that is experiencing a constant turnover of its teachers especially at the basic education level. Low salary, work load and long hours of work, lack of challenge, and personal circumstances are among the reasons why they do not stay long on the job. Among these reasons, it is the low salary (teachers in the United States are paid 7 to 8 times more than local teachers) that forces them to search for better opportunities. In many cases as we know, they end up getting better salaries as domestics in other countries. Another reason given is that teaching leaves the teacher "emotionally drained.” Some leave because they feel that teaching profession is less attractive than other professions or that they feel they do not have much control over the work environment. Because frequent turnover of teachers is a critical factor in affecting quality of learning, it is important to further understand the factors that motivate teachers to look at the profession as a long-term career. Awards such as the Metrobank Foundation’s search for the most outstanding teachers, building an environment that is empowering and one that promotes positive relationship with colleagues and the community, which are as important as financial incentives, should help improve teacher retention.
My e-mail, florangel.braid@gmail.com
