Each year when school begins, the plight of small schools in distant towns, villages and hamlets grows ever worse as a result of delays in the arrival of new teachers. With most teachers preferring to work in large cities, those sent to remote schools are not only inexperienced but often lack the necessary academic qualifications. Even more serious, they lack the perseverance, dedication and commitment required of someone entrusted with educating a new generation. With the exception of a very few who are courageous enough to agree to continue working in remote areas, teachers in those places spend most of the time complaining and being unhappy, which naturally influences the pupils negatively.
Teachers usually like to work at schools as close as possible to where they live. This is the reason why many spend the whole year looking for influential people who can have them transferred to the school of their choice.
As a result schools in remote areas are always short of teachers and it is a problem that happens year after year. When classes end, the students’ performance is dismal. Allowing things to go on like this means the country will continue to suffer now and also in the long term. Students graduating with poor grades cannot possibly make much of a contribution to the country’s development process.
We shouldn’t expect much from a teacher who lacks qualifications, experience and motivation. Teachers sent to remote schools usually come from places other than specialized teachers colleges where extensive training is offered. The problem is made worse when the teacher sent to a remote place has spent his or her entire life in a city.
These teachers will not put up with living in a small village where many luxuries they take for granted are not available. Even if they agree to teach there, they will choose not to stay in the village, preferring instead to travel every day between city and village — even if the trip involves hundreds of kilometers. In the absence of proper monitoring and follow-up of teachers’ performances by regional education offices and school managers, there is seldom any questioning or disciplinary action. This problem needs the urgent attention of the education authorities. The solution surely lies in training and then more training.
