Brain drain and burnout among teachers are said to be further exacerbating an already chronic teacher shortage.
Sharon Kelsick, General Secretary of the Antigua and Barbuda Union of Teachers, says that although the number of recently departed teachers may seem small, it significantly compounds the existing shortage.
“Between last year’s March and December, I have known of at least eight to nine teachers who have left the system.
“Now that might sound like just eight to nine teachers, but imagine in a system where we already have a shortage… and we have eight to nine teachers leaving within a matter of a year,” she told Observer Radio’s Connecting show.
Kelsick went on to explain that many teachers have opted to work overseas due to better financial opportunities, enabling them to leave something behind for their children rather than living from pay cheque to pay cheque.
Furthermore, Kelsick shared that a lack of mental health support for teachers was having a significant impact on persons in the profession.
Many teachers find themselves exhausted when they return home, she said, and often times they have to continue their work well after the school day ends.
This is classified as emotional labour, which is considered one of the most taxing forms of exhaustion due to the toll it can take on a person, both physically and mentally.
The effects of emotional labour on the human body can include increased stress, burnout, and potential long-term impacts on mental health.
Chronic emotional labour may lead to emotional exhaustion, heightened cortisol levels, and increased anxiety and depression.
Kelsick urged the authorities to provide further support to the educational system before it is too late.
“We do have some really good schools, some really good teachers, really good students, that are doing really good things,” she said. “But the reality is that more is needed, a lot more is needed, a lot more support, a lot more financial injection into education, and if we do not do that, then we will get to the point where … there’s no return from there, and we don’t ever want to get to that point.”
Her comments echo previous warnings from the union at a rally it staged on World Teachers Day in October. Union leaders said the escalating global trend – echoed in Antigua and Barbuda – of teachers leaving their positions could lead to a crisis in the country’s education system.
