Teachers are not jacks of all trades

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Teaching has always been a physically and emotionally taxing vocation, but we have reached a breaking point where the term “educator” is being forcibly redefined as “security guard”, “unpaid mediator” and “babysitter”.

The current state of our educational institutions is a study in systemic injustice. We are witnessing an alarming rise in grave physical altercations among students – violence so severe that it now frequently involves parents entering school grounds to settle scores. Yet, instead of a firm disciplinary response, we see an administrative system that offers no clear consequences.

Perhaps most insulting to the profession is the ‘collective punishment’ approach taken by administrators. When violence breaks out, regular class schedules are scrapped, and teachers – the very people who put their safety at risk to break up these fights – are assigned to ‘babysit’ students. Is it just to disrupt the learning of the many to provide a warehouse for the few who refuse to follow the rules? Are teachers now expected to fulfil the role of a full-time dean of discipline without the title, training, or pay?

Further, the lack of basic infrastructure, such as reliable Internet for academic staff, makes it impossible to carry out the online work mandated by the Ministry of Education. Teachers are being squeezed from both sides: held to high digital standards without tools, and held to high academic standards while their teaching time is stolen for crowd control.

In the age of social media, the chaos in our hallways is visible to everyone and the Ministry of Education can no longer claim ignorance. The ministry must partner with school administrators to implement practical, enforceable strategies to alleviate this crisis. We need a return to the sanctity of the classroom and a firm rejection of the idea that teachers are a ‘catch-all’ solution for administrative failure and student misconduct.

NAJUMA ELLIS