Three-year search for mechanical tech teacher continues at Marcus Garvey

While a migration crisis has been causing anxiety over attrition numbers ahead of the new school year, schools like Marcus Garvey Technical have been struggling to find educators, especially in the industrial arts, in recent years.

Kirk Smith, head of the industrial arts technology department at the St Ann’s Bay-based school, said the challenge in finding teachers for technical and vocational subjects is not caused by migration.

Marcus Garvey Technical school has been searching for a mechanical technology teacher to fill a clear vacancy for three years.

“Our shortage would really occur because let’s face it, teaching is not really one of those lucrative professions anymore and persons would rather go into the industry,” Smith explained.

Over the three years, the school has not been able to find someone willing to stick around.

“The first person that came, he spent one month. I don’t know if he was lured into the industry, but he has not returned after the first month,” said Smith.

“In the technical and vocational areas, it is a chronic shortage even in the teachers’ colleges because I’ve personally gone to Mico, I’ve gone to UTech (University of Technology), and I’ve spoken to the persons there. I’ve made myself available in terms of getting my needs out there for persons to contact the school and apply for these positions. These are clear vacancies, and we’re still not getting persons applying to fill these positions,” he lamented.

“The industry is much more lucrative than the classroom. Unless you have a passion for education, you would rather go into the industry. I think the Government really needs to not just talk about TVET and the vocational areas, but really offer some incentives to retain persons and lure persons to be part of the education process,” Smith suggested.

The equipment in the mechanical technology workshop at the school is aged but functional, Smith said.

A leaking roof, however, remains a challenge as although the Ministry of Education has sent several contractors to inspect the building and prepare estimates, the start to the process to carry out the repairs is nowhere in sight.

There is also an electrical problem, which, along with the roof, needs to be rectified before any consideration is given to replacing the aged machinery.

The industrial arts department is infested with termites and the school is seeking to replace wooden areas with concrete facilities where possible.

“We are getting ready, not there as yet. We are currently in meetings, charting the way forward as to how to get resources in,” Smith said as the new school year approaches.

“We are in contact with external stakeholders for assistance. We engage parents who are in the trade from time to time who will come in like on an Open Day or Career Day and do a demonstration as well as to give students pep talks from time to time,” he said.

Meanwhile, principal Anniona Jones said she has been speaking to professionals in the industrial arts field to entice them to join the teaching profession but admitted that the process is not easy.

“I have spoken to some persons who are interested in teaching their skills. They love it,” she told The Gleaner. “They’re auto mechanics, they’re welders, but they’re not trained teachers, and I have had the experience personally of hiring these persons, and the paperwork is just too much. They spend so much time marking papers, writing lesson plans, tests, quizzes – pretty much starting from scratch with paperwork – that it diminishes the love that they had for the teaching and the time available to actually teach the children.”

Some 1,800 students are expected to be on roll at Marcus Garvey Technical in the next school year.

carl.gilchrist@gleanerjm.com