Why Hiring More Teachers Makes Sense, Even With Falling Student Numbers

It gives educators some breathing space as they juggle multiple and expanded roles

- Elisha Tushara

With fewer students, why do we need more teachers? It's a fair question.

On July 9, Education Minister Desmond Lee announced that his ministry will raise annual teacher recruitment to 1,000—a significant jump from the recent average of 650 new hires a year since 2019.

The number of teachers across primary schools, secondary schools, and junior colleges dropped from 31,834 in 2021 to 30,396 in 2023. Figures for 2024 are not yet available.

Despite falling student cohort sizes—from 428,600 in 2021 to 422,342 in 2023—boosting the supply of teachers is not just timely, it is critical.

It is no longer enough to be a classroom teacher, a subject expert with little knowledge of how the real world works.

As educators support students beyond academics and prepare them for an increasingly uncertain world, their workloads have grown, along with the complexity of their responsibilities.

A better-staffed workforce could help give teachers some breathing space to meet these demands.

Throughout the school day, and sometimes beyond, they wear multiple "hats" apart from their formal teacher role—mediator, counselor, disciplinarian, tech support, and coach, among other things.

They design lesson materials and assessments to cater to students who learn at a slower or faster pace, plan activities to help their charges form friendships and learn in groups, and help them navigate online lessons.