The inescapable, painful reality

Tshwarelo Hosia | Monday November 9, 2026 09:07

The inescapable and painful reality is that one day every living creature of flesh and blood would, presumably at God’s best timing, face the ordeal or pleasure of honouring the divine appointment with the Maker.

However, God’s time table is considered ideal though accepted grudgingly. Human beings are constantly at loggerheads with death whenever it visits.

It would seem the long and deep seated conflict and disharmony between the desire for longevity and death’s mission of plucking people out of mother earth would not be settled any time soon.

Death continues to be so callous and unkind to the teaching profession robbing of the classrooms the most able classroom practitioners and school administrative centres the most potent school principals.

The latest sad episode is that, it would seem, not a month could pass without anybody making an announcement of the demise of a teacher or two.

Although one is not privy to any study or official statistics to back up any claim, nonetheless it would appear, there are far too many teachers in their prime who are meeting their premature deaths.

This is a worrying phenomenon, which should keep the teaching profession on its toes.

If there is anything that can be done to reverse the trend the teaching profession would soon run of out of depth, devoid of experience and substance that have made the profession sparkle and shine over the years.

Something urgent should be done to scale down the ‘haemorrhage and depopulation’ presently bedeviling the noblest of all professions. After all what is teaching without the teaching profession? One can ask rhetorically.

Teachers are irreplaceable. There is no known technological breakthrough that has hitherto rendered teachers obsolete. Just like any other profession, human resource is the hub and life blood of the teaching profession.

It goes without saying saving that the teaching profession necessarily entails taking good care of the teachers. If teaching is to thrive and prosper the well being of teachers should be a top priority and not a secondary or additional responsibility.

The syndrome of no money should not be allowed to compromise issues of mental health in the teaching profession. This is not to suggest there are not efforts made to look after the well being and mental health of the teachers.

A lot is done. However one is suggesting that more informed and targeted interventions could be instituted to save the profession. First and foremost to ensure appropriate interventions are made research into the subject should be commissioned to gather accurate and reliable data. Such data could be used to inform policy formulation, planning resource allocations and implementation.

A lot of money and resources have been deployed towards the training and refining of the teachers and it would be an act of irresponsibility to allow such investments to go to waste. Saving the teachers is an integral part of the bigger project of harnessing and prudently using resources that the country so desperately need in the quest to restore economic prosperity and widen opportunities for all.

Without preempting any research into this delicate subject, one can safely conclude that the well being and mental health of the teaching profession should be looked into seriously.

Wellness is a serious subject requiring a calculated and adequately resourced plan. Planning, resourcing and execution of the Wellness agenda would indicate the delicacy and seriousness with which the public service regard matters of mental health and wellness.

To its credit the public service has made provision for employees to set aside a day in a week to address the subject of wellness and mental health. Hitherto, in many departments, the Wellness meetings are real meetings in a real sense of the word.

They have become more of talking shops where various professionals take turns to address staff on issues of welfare. Wellness should be more that awareness raising. It should be synonymous with action. Raising awareness while engaging in physical activities aimed at building physical strengths and endurance is paramount.

Physical activities help combat obesity and opportunistic non communicable diseases. If wellness has become some kind of Cinderella Teachers have to fend for themselves if they are to maintain fitness.

Tight heavy teaching schedules compounded by financial constraints could be making it almost impossible for teachers to invest in mental health and wellness. The employer should perhaps step in to provide facilities and resources at the work places so that teachers could access them at their convenience. One thing also worth investigating is the happiness index in the teaching profession.

The conditions of teaching are quite appalling and have been deteriorating over the years. Teachers not only are they running short of basic classroom tools to execute their teaching functions but they are also inadequately housed.

Some teachers as their trade unions have correctly lamented do not have access to decent and subsidised institutional housing. They are now forced to look for accommodation elsewhere which drain their meagre incomes.

Those forced by circumstances to pay a little more for accommodation as compared to their counterparts housed in institutional housing have some degree of justification to feel unloved and uncared for.

There is an urgent need to level the playing field and ensure teachers are subjected to the same and universally applicable conditions of service.

Research in into the happiness index of the teachers would provide insights into the nature of the problem and what measures can be undertaken to raise the profile of the profession.

The issue of rewards and incentives should also be looked into. There are so many hard working and impactful teachers who left the profession they chose to love prematurely because they faced the scourge of under appreciation.

They left emotionally wounded simply because they regarded the teaching profession as a thankless job. Research should delve into finding out why and more teachers continue to seek opportunities elsewhere.

Otherwise as long as teachers still regard the profession as a thankless profession the teachers would continue to experience depression and disaffection with the job they used to love.