Jamaica’s Ministry of Education and Youth will be employing various teacher retention strategies for the 2024/25 academic year, which begins in September.
Acting Chief Education Officer, Terry-Ann Thomas Gayle, advised that teachers are being sought from various countries. In response to a question posed during the ministry's Region Six 2024 Back-to-School Conference at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, she said: “We currently have engaged Nigeria, Ghana, the Philippines and India. So, we are looking all over,” she said
The conference was held under the theme 'Shaping the Future: STEM/STEAM and the Transformation Agenda'. Last year, the ministry gave school administrators approval to engage part-time, retired and pre-trained graduate teachers and final-year student teachers to fill the gaps caused by teacher resignations.
Administrators were also encouraged to redeploy underutilised staff, merge small classes, use the block timetable approach and increase the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in the classroom.
The Minister said “There are areas within that bulletin that will remain. But we're giving you an additional pool from which you can select your teachers.” She explained that school administrators will be able to use the ministry's job portal to identify and recruit teachers who are being engaged from foreign countries.