As authorities prepare for the new academic year, Jamaican authorities are stressing about the resignations and the departure of hundreds of Jamaican teachers to the US and the United Kingdom, with many teachers complaining that they are tired of living just above the poverty line.

Pressure on teachers to work and live overseas is also coming from Caribbean jurisdictions such as The Bahamas, The Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) and there is real concern that many schools will be understaffed when the new year begins in about a week.

The debate about teachers leaving in droves was sparked in part by the umbrella parent teachers’ association expressing concern about migration and was desperate enough to suggest that a quota limit be placed on how many should be allowed to leave the country each year.

In an angry response, the head of the teachers’ union (Jamaica Teachers’ Association) says the delivery of education at primary and high school levels is in a precarious position owing largely to the fact that teachers feel that they are among the working poor and need to improve living standards. Leighton Johnson is adamant that no quota limits or any barriers to prevent teacher migration can be imposed as this is an individual decision driven by personal and professional ambition and family needs.

“The position that we are in as a nation is worrying. Our teachers have opted to ply their trade in other jurisdictions and what is encouraging is that these jurisdictions find our teachers to be aptly trained, qualified, capable, and competent, and in some regards they exceed the expectations in these jurisdictions. I am not sure how as a nation we can prevent our teachers from taking hold of opportunities that will see them having a better life,” he told the Observer newspaper this week. “We can’t dictate the direction of people’s lives. If you decide to go abroad to make your life better to earn monies to be able to comfortably take care of your families, I do not think issuing a term limit will be a solution,” Johnson said.

Available statistics indicate that about 430 teachers have quit their jobs since January to add to the 1,538 who resigned between January and September last year. Authorities fear that most have been lured off island to the US, the UK, Canada and to some of the better off neighboring Caribbean islands.

Recruiters from North America and the UK have in the past held workshops for teachers on Caribbean soil with teachers turning out in droves in an attempt to be hired. Many who actually make it eventually remain overseas as they often work towards becoming permanent residents and eventually citizens.

“We all are searching for solutions and we appreciate the fact that people are looking out for the best interest of teachers. I took note that the first call they (the parents association) made was for an improvement in teachers’ salaries. It is an indication that our parents understand the value of teachers and the value of their work and are agreeing with us that teachers must be adequately compensated so they can take care of themselves. Teachers need to stop struggling, teachers need to stop living from hand to mouth, and it is this direction teachers want to go in,” Johnson said.