The Ministry of Education (MOE) is planning to pay consultants good money to review teachers' pay and career structures. Yet, currently those who choose to leave or avoid the teaching profession are influenced not only by lacklustre remuneration or unpromising career prospects.
During the last education service review in 2000, salaries and bonuses were increased substantially and MOE introduced the Education Service Professional Development and Career Plan to nurture and motivate teachers to achieve their full potential.
The Connect Plan, meant to reward long-serving teachers, was also introduced in January 2002.
A sum of $2,000 to $4,800 would be deposited annually into a teacher's Connect account — a portion of which can be withdrawn at defined points every three to five years. One would assume that with all these enticing benefits, there would not be a shortage of teachers.
MOE is quick to highlight that the current review is part of a planned periodic
process to ensure teaching remains attractive. But its moves indicate that it is
becoming increasingly challenging to recruit and retain good teachers.
Of course, one could argue that MOE's long-term goal of reducing class size and the fact that many teachers are approaching retirement herald the need to recruit more teachers. But the main problem is that more teachers are quitting the service after their three to five-year bond period expires.
As a consequence, MOE has no choice but to hire new and inexperienced recruits, and as experience and dedication are paramount in the profession, there has been a perceived decline in the quality of teachers.
MOE needs to look beyond pay issues and career structures to adopt a holistic approach in its current review. In particular, MOE should seriously consider:
According teachers due respect and autonomy. Subjecting experienced teachers to annual "audit checks", during which supervisors scrutinise how they conduct lessons and correct pupils' written work, only serves to lower their selfesteem and make them feel like blue-collar workers instead of qualified professionals.
Abolishing the rule that at least 5 per cent of teachers in every school will get a "D" performance grade and thus not receive performance bonus. This rule is unfair because it is akin to saying that in a class of 40 students, the bottom two will be regarded as failures even though they have scored more than 50 out of 100 marks.
Recognising effective classroom teaching as the hallmark of a good teacher. School heads should banish the notion that since all teachers can teach, a good teacher is one who can garner titles and achievements outside the classroom, such as in co-curricular activities or sports. Many older teachers feel threatened as their younger colleagues, who are better at showcasing these "outside" talents, seem to be stealing the limelight.
Lightening the administrative workload of teachers. Relieve teachers of chores such as collecting school fees, consent forms, donation money, etc. Allowing teachers to go on sabbatical leave. Teaching is a demanding and stressful profession. Sabbatical leave, say once every five years, will allow teachers to recharge and focus on their personal well-being.
Going easy on training. Treat MOE's 100 hours of free training as an entitlement rather than a target that teachers have to achieve. Courses and workshops should be voluntary.
Avoiding running schools like private organisations hungry for fame and glory. Schools should use funds meaningfully and customise programmes according to pupils' needs. Just because pupils in school A are using laptops to do their schoolwork does not mean school B should strive to do likewise. The question at the end of the day should be: "Have our pupils benefited?", not "Are we better than the other school?"
Ensuring that school heads have the relevant and requisite experience. Scholars and those who have performed well in MOE headquarters may not necessarily make good principals, without the relevant ground experience or good leadership skills. It appears that nowadays, six years of experience as a teacher in a Junior College and one year as vice-principal would qualify one to be appointed principal of a primary school. It does not always work out well.
Conducting exit interviews for teachers leaving the profession. Understanding their true reason for departing will allow MOE to make appropriate changes and stem the loss of valuable talent.
Apart from "Teach Less, Learn More", MOE urgently needs to embark on a mission to "Recruit Less, Retain More".
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“Climb into a teacher’s skin – A teacher to wear many hats” (Ng Sui Chye
Sebastian, Today Voices, 17/3)
The article, "Look Beyond pay, career issues" by Victor Ng Beng Li (March 15) gave some insights on the current situation or plight teachers are facing in their chosen profession.
To outsiders, it gave a glimpse into the realities of the actual job scope of a teacher.
A teacher does not just teach, he is also a mentor, a surrogate parent, a counsellor, an administrator, a marketeer, an artist, a jester, a musician, a sportsman, a technician, a handyman, a labourer, a data entry clerk and so on. The job scope ranges from the altruistic to the mundane.
Nevertheless, it is a matter of perspective on what is considered altruistic or mundane.
Simply put, the teacher is a jack-of-all-trades, a just-in-time worker and a master of one or two. All the different hats the teacher has to put on one time or another during his career may put a toll on the teacher and indirectly dilute his core calling of the profession, that is, to teach.
As part of the Ministry of Education's (MOE) vision to "Teach Less, Learn More", teachers are reminded to spend more time in lesson preparation with the objective to set young minds thinking.
However, time is a precious commodity for teachers. As a result, something has to give. The teacher has to be selective in the type of hat he has to wear.
The initiative to introduce work attachments is commendable. May I suggest that the MOE's policy-makers set an example by going for attachments themselves.
What better way to feel the ground, than to be on the ground itself? Be a teacher aide for a month. Shadow the teacher who has to wear so many hats a day.
Likewise, the MOE may consider making it mandatory for the external consultants to be relief teachers or contract teachers to really feel the ground. This will definitely obviate the need for surveys and questionnaires
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21 Mar 06
MOE approaches teacher recruitment and retention holistically
- Mr Victor Ng Beng Li ("Look Beyond Pay, Career Issues", Today, 15 Mar) made a number of suggestions aimed at ensuring that teaching remains attractive. Mr Sebastian Ng (“Climb into a teacher’s skin – a teacher has to wear many hats”, Today, 16 Mar) gave insights into the challenges of teaching.
- We agree fully that a holistic approach is necessary both to attract and retain good teachers. This is the approach that MOE has been taking. It is not just about pay and rewards, although we must keep teachers’ pay competitive. It is about giving teachers more support in their jobs, more space to do what they think best for their students, more opportunities for personal development and more recognition for excellence and commitment to their calling.
- We are reducing pupil-teacher ratios in all schools, by about 15% over the next few years. We are recruiting full-time school counsellors for every school, beginning with secondary schools, and Special Needs Officers to assist teachers in helping students with special learning needs. All schools will receive a Co-curricular Programme Executive by the middle of 2007 to assist teachers in the administration of co-curricular activities and other programmes. All new teachers will be provided with mentorship when they enter schools from later this year, with experienced teachers being given time to serve as mentors. More teachers are being given opportunities for work attachments outside the school.
- There is more to be done, but we are not doing all that badly. Mr Victor Ng thought that more teachers are quitting upon completing their bonds and MOE has no choice but to recruit new and inexperienced recruits to replace retiring teachers. Over the last 6 years, an average of 2,300 teachers per year have joined teaching. This is well above the outflow due to retirement and resignations. Resignation rates have been steady at between 2 to 3%. They have also remained steady amongst new teachers who have completed their bonds.
- We have been seeing more former teachers coming back into the service. In 2005, we re-appointed or recruited over 900 former teachers as adjunct teachers. For these individuals, the satisfaction and joy of teaching have clearly been key factors in their returning to the profession. We are also seeing more mid-career entrants joining the teaching service, attracted by its opportunities and challenges. One in eight of our teachers are individuals who entered the profession after more than 3 years of working experience elsewhere.
- The size of the teaching force has therefore grown from 22,000 teachers in 1996 to 27,000 in 2004. We are heartened by the strong interest in our recruitment efforts and our ability to retain our teachers, even with the recovery in the rest of the economy.
- We know that there is no room for complacency. Our planned review of the teachers’ terms is a pro-active effort to ensure that the teaching service remains attractive to both new and serving teachers. We have also been actively seeking feedback from our teachers and from those who do resign. And we are putting more effort into developing the leadership and management skills of our school leaders, so that they continue to motivate their teachers and help them grow.
- Exemplary classroom teaching, which Mr Victor Ng felt needed recognition, is a key competency under the Enhanced Performance Management System. Excellent teachers are given recognition in the school, and through a variety of awards. Parents too often commend the work of individual teachers, through the school or the Ministry. We have also enhanced the teaching career track to give greater recognition and better development opportunities for our classroom, senior and master teachers since April 2005.
- Classroom observations of teachers by their peers and supervisors form part of an open and development-oriented culture which our schools seek to instil. This practice is well-regarded and widely used in good schools in other countries, and forms part of a teacher’s on-the-job learning and sharing.
- While MOE does not mechanically enforce assigning the number of performance grades in every school, we do need a rigorous appraisal system in which teachers who may need help in improving their teaching practices can be identified and coached.
- With each passing year, we have been working hard to improve the environment in which our teachers work and support them in the job. With the enthusiasm and commitment of our teachers, we are confident of providing every child an engaging and enriching educational experience.
Lu Cheng Yang
Director
Personnel
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