In a recent presentation titled “South African teacher migration: an issue of political debate“, Rian de Villiers from the Faculty of Education at the University of Pretoria indicated that South Africa loses approximately 4000 teachers each year to emigration. This means that new teachers will have to be aggresively recruited and produced to curb the decline in numbers of teachers.
De Villiers showed that teachers loss in South Africa was due to attrition, career change and massive recruitment by foreign countries.
Factors which seem to be pushing teachers out of SA were:
- Career dissatisfaction
- Low salaries
- Unemployment
Factors attracting teachers to other countries include:
- Higher salaries
- Professional development
- Travel opportunities
- Friends and family overseas
- Recruitment agency persuasion.
Possible solutions given by De Villiers include:
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Recruiting retired and unemployed subject experts
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Having a compulsory one-year internship after graduation
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Making more bursary schemes available for prospective student teachers
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Monitoring teacher recruitment agencies closely
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Introducing international relocation grants
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Eliminating negative perceptions about the teaching profession
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Improving teachers’ work conditions
To read more:
Go to Michelle Jones’ article in the Star Newspaper by Clicking Here!
Go to Michelle Jones and Leanne Jansen’s article in The Mercury by Clicking Here!
To access Rian De Villiers’ presentation Click Here!
Filed under: Edu News (South Africa), Faculty Staff Publications, South Africa, Teachers/Educators | Tagged: brain drain, decline in teacher numbers, emigration, migration, Rian de Villiers, South Africa, teachers | Leave a Comment »
