The negative impact on our education system of the high turnover of teachers should not be underestimated. As The National reported yesterday, this country has a high rate of churn. Many teachers come to the UAE on short-term contracts, often just two years, and leave once that commitment is completed. This means that the education environment is not stable, which in turn can affect students' motivation and learning progress.
While some schools may find the cost of cycling through staff cheaper than training and retaining teachers, the increased competition among schools will mean that they will have to put more focus on the quality of their teaching staff in the future.
This doesn’t just mean bringing the best teachers. It may mean looking at recruiting more experienced teachers – and therefore giving them commensurately better salary packages. But more than financial incentives, good teachers want to develop their skills and be challenged. This can hardly be achieved without offering potential recruits opportunities for professional development. Schools could focus on further teacher training . For example, they could offer teachers scholarships for master’s and continuing education programmes in UAE universities. Teachers would then be bonded to commit to a certain number of years with their schools for the scholarship they receive. So the more they commit to post-graduate qualifications, they longer they are bonded to their schools; and the better trained that they become, the longer they stay with their schools. A win-win.
Investing in teacher retention will improve the overall standard. The longer teachers stay, the more understanding they will have of the education environment and the more they will be able to adjust and improve their teaching practices. For them to feel part of the system, teachers should be empowered enough to influence policies and shape the future of their profession. They should be given the opportunity to grow inside the school environment by taking on leadership positions that are well-paid, challenging and enriching.
To maintain their own competitive advantage, individual schools should continue to work on creating comfortable, creative, refreshing and exciting learning environments. Teachers are the most essential ingredient for providing the highest quality education possible and schools must invest in them.
