In the UK, one in three teachers quit the profession within five years of qualifying
Schools in the UAE are having to deal with a worldwide shortage of well-qualified teachers, as head teachers struggle to recruit talent.
When schools advertise for a teaching position, they get hundreds of applications — but only a handful are qualified or match the criteria, according to UAE principals.
The world was already going through a shortage of teachers before the pandemic, which exacerbated the situation.
Many teachers around the world have been quitting the profession due to burnout, work pressure, low wages and extra duties because of unfilled vacancies.
According to Unesco figures from 2016, nearly 69 million new teachers were needed to provide quality universal primary and secondary education by 2030.
Deepika Thapar Singh, head teacher at Credence High School in Dubai said: “There is a shortage of good teachers across the world and that same shortage is what we feel here.
“It is not a teacher shortage, but when you’re looking for well-qualified teachers, there’s a shortage. When I advertise in the newspaper and on LinkedIn, I get so many resumes, but to get the best is a challenge.
“I will sometimes go over 400 to 500 resumes and then manage to shortlist maybe only five teachers and then bring them down to one or two.”
UAE teachers talk of challenges during the pandemic
Ms Singh said that because qualified teachers are few in number, they are highly sought after.
She said good salaries, working culture, and support at work helped attract talent.
“It is a challenge to find a good mathematics teacher. The reason is that we are not looking at the traditional way of teaching mathematics. The world has changed and teaching methodologies have to change. The teachers’ skills seem to be outdated and they need to update these,” Ms Singh said.
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