The pain of losing a teacher

Tshwarelo Hosia | Monday May 26, 2025 13:23

The teacher in question has been the pillar of strength in the creation and sustenance of a high performing culture that our sub region is renowned for. I sat in the office with disbelief, overwhelmed with a sense of loss as I read and re-read his letter of resignation.

I felt I could do something but I realised that it would be tantamount to punching above my weight. I finally succumbed to the stark reality that I was fighting a losing battle because his new employer offered him a very tempting and irresistible remuneration package.

I would have taken the offer too, if I were in his shoes. I only wished I had the power and means to present a counter offer. Sadly, the option was not available.

The private sector is in business. It is unmatched in its ruthless and relentless pursuit of the creme dela creme in the job market. The language of attracting, incentivising and retaining talent is a language of survival of the fittest, spoken with extreme passion in the bo private sector board rooms.

This robustness sets the private sector apart from the public service. The need to stay ahead of rivals keeps the private sector on its toes.

The public service too should catch the fever. The business as usual should come to an end. While it would be too ambitious to think that the government could match the private sector pound for pound but something should be done to change the narrative slowly but surely.

Things, especially in the education sector, should change.

All capable hands should be on deck if the system desires to reverse the academic downward trend. Schools cannot afford to lose their most valuable assets- especially the teachers skilled and experienced on matters of classroom pedagogy.

All students, regardless of the geographical location of their schools, deserve the best teachers that can be found both in the local and international markets.

The foundation of a school is not only serving students but also serving them well with the goal of producing desirable student learning outcomes. The subject of teacher retention is very critical in the quest for quality classroom instruction.

A lot of resources go into the production and professional growth of teachers and efforts should be made to curb high attrition. The system can get out of the present crisis sooner than anticipated if selected teachers with a high teaching pedigree could return to the classroom.

The system has lost great and inspirational teachers to management positions. Some settled for management positions purely motivated by better financial incentives at the top and not because they were so enthusiastic about managerial positions. Their hearts are still in the classrooms.

If the system is desirous of achieving a positive change it should facilitate the return of good teachers to the classroom from the different places where they had sought temporary refuge. In a war situation, even retired soldiers could be required to return to active military service.

The same should apply to veteran teachers who are still physically fit. If encouraged and motivated and also moved by a deep sense of patriotism they could also retrace their steps to their first darling - teaching.

As indicated in the story of the teacher who left prematurely, the teaching profession continues to lose to the private sector teachers who are under 45 years. This is a tragedy and it must be addressed urgently.

Schools can only do better when all capable hands are on deck. The most important undertaking in a school setting is providing stimulating and best pedagogic experiences while also giving child welfare matters sufficient attention.

The goal of achieving academic excellence is second to none. Any school worth its salt should do everything in its power to raise the instructional bar. Over the years, the system in its wisdom insulated the upper deck of school management from teaching responsibilities.

It was assumed that school management responsibilities are so overwhelmingly huge such that they cannot be coupled with other duties.

The whole thinking that the most senior members in a school cannot execute teaching functions together with management functions is fundamentally flawed. In the private sector, school principals have classes they are teaching yet the sky is not falling. Multi-tasking is not at all compromising their management responsibilities.

In times of crisis, everyone, including chief education officers and directors so create time for classroom instruction. In an environment of a persistent drought of academic excellence, there can be no other place better than being in the classroom to deliver instruction.

The present culture of under achievement could be caused by a situation where classroom teaching is left in the hands of less experienced teachers who are still learning the ropes.

Of course, one is fully conscious of the fact that many young novice teachers are committed to the teaching profession and there is evidence that the new entrants are acquitting themselves in the classroom. One should also note that some of the teachers serving on temporary basis are giving their best selves to the profession.

However, senior teachers should never have any justification to shirk their duties. It is important to avoid leaving the young teachers to their own devices.

They need hand holding and the ‘senior citizens’ the schools should not only share best pedagogic practices but should also demonstrate how teaching is done. The role of leaders is to provide exemplary leadership, to lead from the front and not from the background.