Alfred Dawes | Post-COVID-19 ‘cowards’ and great migration

A few weeks ago I wrote of the disruptive effect of plagues on societies and the world order. Of primary importance was the Black Death bringing an end to feudalism in Europe as surviving peasants disrupted the status quo with collective bargaining rights that shifted the balance of power from the Manor lords to the tenanted serfs. This led to the creation of a new economic class and social mobility in Western Europe. The COVID-19 pandemic has already seen the sprouts of a post-plague new world order, in the form of global inflation, migration, war and political turmoil.

To ignore the signs of the post-plague effect locally is to invite doom on the land and sentence future generations to a far worse fate than ours. Nowhere is this more noticeable than in the wave of migrations of our best-trained professionals, to fill the voids created by the Great Resignation and the increased demand for services in developed countries. A good case study is that of teacher migration, and who better to interview than a recruiter responsible for draining hundreds of brains from the education sector, and a teacher on their way out. The insights thus gained are frightening at best.

“In my estimation, my company alone gets roughly 400 applicants per year and we take a third of who applies.” Teachers are recruited based on the needs of the schools in the United States, but in the past few years, those numbers have increased, with this year already seeing record applicants, according to the recruiter. The teachers are primarily drawn from primary education, high school science and math.

“There has been an increase in the past five years because the US recognises the talent of the Jamaican teacher. COVID-19 had an impact because schools were basically closed, but now that schools are fully open for this academic year, there has been a significant increase.”

So, who are the recruiters taking and who gets left behind?

“We reject teachers who are not competent in speaking the English language and who we feel would not be a good fit socially for the part of the US that they’ll be placed. The best and the brightest are who we want, teachers with first degrees and master’s degrees. If you have just a teaching diploma, you’re not qualified for the programme. Simply because we want to put them in a situation where they can grow professionally. We don’t take teachers who are fresh out of university, so you’ll have to have two years of teaching experience. The teachers who are left back are the teachers who either have some second business that can supplement their income, a husband or are tutoring on the side. The teachers who are left back are usually older.”

WHY ARE THEY LEAVING?

Primarily, teachers are leaving for money. The compensation is ridiculously better compared to Jamaica. Which local teacher has a starting salary of US$4,000 per month? They noted that teachers also leave for opportunities for growth, and for opportunities for their families. “Our teachers are moving on to become heads of departments and even fill assistant principal positions. Once they go there and get professional development in terms of pedagogy and lesson instruction and delivery, they always shine. They’re there for a five-year contract; however, the schools are doing the green card paperwork for their employees, so these teachers are not returning to Jamaica.” They get permanent positions in the US and the majority are starting families, so their children have US citizenship. They are not coming back. Back to what?

One teacher who is currently in the process of migrating opined. “Apart from money, teachers leave because of poor working conditions. The classrooms are not enticing. They’re hot, they are miserable, and when students are hot, they’re miserable. It’s just an angry environment to work in. Schools are overcrowded. We don’t have adequate furniture. We don’t have adequate teaching materials. We don’t have adequate space. What we have a lot of are promises that better is coming. Well, I finally see my better. It is 200 miles and three months away!”

“Jamaica has not equipped our teachers with adequate professional development to move at the rate that education is moving globally. It’s the same old same old chalk and talk. There’s so many other things going on in education that Jamaica is yet to grasp. We are so archaic in how we think education should be, with literacy and, importantly, how we deal with behavioural issues. Teachers are not trained with behaviour management techniques and we do not have enough counsellors and psychologists in the schools.” As she spoke, it appeared her resolve to migrate was strengthening, as she listed the ills plaguing the sector.

The recruiter ended by saying, “People will not leave Jamaica if they see an opportunity for growth, if they see that they can make a way for themselves and their families. We’re also losing many professionals to Canada and to the Middle East. So, it’s not just the US recruiters that are coming down.”

With a sad history of 60 years of anaemic growth and the threat of stagflation, in-your-face-corruption, an uncontrollable crime rate, with a society rapidly spiralling into anarchy, it appears that the real cowards in the room are those who were elected into positions where they can make Jamaica a liveable place, but are afraid to do so because they are too terrified of facing the electorate without the support of dons, illicit cash to buy votes, and a party machinery dependent on alliances with criminals and systemic corruption.

Dr Alfred Dawes is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and CEO of Windsor Wellness Centre. Follow him on Twitter @dr_aldawes. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and adawes@ilapmedical.com.