Will young teachers last in an increasingly complex profession?

It's the chance to nurture young lives that draws teachers to their profession. An ever-expanding job role can cool this ardour.

- Elisha Tushara Correspondent

It is encouraging that the Education Ministry recognises the strain teachers face, but the disconnect between well-meaning policies and their actual impact on the ground remains wide, says the writer. Younger teachers who are struggling to find their footing will need more than piecemeal measures that shave minutes off their day. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

(GAVIN FOO)

When I was a novice teacher, I remember a head of department telling me that classroom teaching was the “bread and butter” of our profession. Thus, it would factor the most during our appraisal and performance ranking.

But teaching is such a small aspect of the job, and is increasingly getting smaller. The numbers say so.

According to the Teaching and Learning International Survey (Talis) released on Oct 7, Singapore teachers spent 17.7 hours a week on actual teaching in 2024, quite similar to the 18 hours reported in 2018.

However, their overall working hours rose from an average of 46 hours a week to 47.3.

If you do the maths, it would mean that a teacher spends 62.5 per cent of their time, or 29.6 hours a week, on non-teaching tasks.

How can only 37.5 per cent of what you do at work factor the most for a performance review?

As a beginning teacher in 2011, showcasing my best in the classroom while being pulled in many different directions outside the classroom got overwhelming.

I lasted almost 13 years in the profession, but I fear young teachers these days will quit much earlier than that.

Some 40 per cent of teachers under the age of 30 said they intend to leave the profession within the next five years.

This may be no cause for worry. After all, it is a drop of 9 percentage points from 2018, when 49 per cent of young teachers felt this way. Also, the average annual resignation rate of teachers has held steady at 2 per cent to 3 per cent - lower than other areas in the civil service.