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Julio César Rodríguez Molano graduated in Mathematics and Computer Science in Colombia, completed a master’s degree in Website Management and Engineering and is a doctoral student in Computer Science from the University of Oviedo, Spain. However, his salary as a teacher at a rural Colombian school does not exceed $813. Baltazar Sánchez, director of the official mixed rural school in Aldea Juil (Guatemala), cannot afford 900 dollars. Darío Greni Olivieri, in Uruguay, is paid $1,300. Although the cost of living and salaries vary greatly from one Latin American country to another (ranging from $300 to $1,500), the majority of teachers have lower salaries than other careers with similar years and training. And the vocation does not fill the pantry. “The basic food basket is in the air and our salaries are not keeping up. We are professionals and it is not always enough for us,” says Sánchez. “I should be earning $370 more, but the difference is due to the State’s obstacles to promotion. My salary is not enough,” explains Rodríguez.
Job insecurity, lack of support from States, little or no digitalization and obsolete infrastructure are some of the reasons why there is a lack of 44 million teachers in the world, according to estimates by the UNESCO Institute of Statistics, published this Wednesday within the framework of World Teachers’ Day. At least 3.2 million of them are needed in Latin America and the Caribbean to achieve the educational goals of the 2030 Agenda. 20 years ago, the main reason for this unmet demand was linked to the increase in school enrollment. Today, it has more to do with the difficulty of attracting candidates or keeping them in their jobs. Claudia Uribe, director of the regional office of Education for the UNESCO region, is very concerned about desertion in the sector: “This rate among primary school teachers has doubled in seven years. In 2015 it was 4.62% and, in 2022, 9.06%.” According to regional estimates, most of the teacher shortage projected for 2030 is attributed to the potential need to fill existing positions.
When vacancies are so in demand, explains Bibiam Díaz, Education expert at CAF-development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, the access requirements are not so high. And this has a notable impact on the performance of a large part of the teachers and students. “On the continent we have a great teacher training challenge, especially in the digital area. While it is true that countries are making progress in this, many times they do the process of adapting to artificial intelligence or technology alone and in their free time,” she explains. This is the case of Greni, director and teacher at rural school number 88 in Las Violetas, Uruguay, who estimates that he dedicates an average of 10 extra hours a week to prepare his classes and train.
Although Uruguay has been applauded for the famous Ceibal Plan, which provided tablets, computers and incorporated digital tools throughout the educational process, adaptation to technological reality is still slow: “We have not yet received courses on artificial intelligence. I think we could get a lot out of it, but I haven’t ventured into it with my students because I think I need training. We don’t have it yet.” For rural teachers, like Rodríguez, the gaps become even larger: “Although state entities constantly offer us courses on emerging technologies, these are difficult to apply, since they are concentrated in training institutions located in large populated areas. ”.
Díaz insists: “A lot can be improved in the way the teaching career is designed, but also in the role of the States to not leave teachers alone.” Loneliness at work multiplied during the pandemic. The teachers did not understand schedules or medical restrictions, whether this implied boredom or hopelessness among the students. Despite teaching efforts, Latin America took more than a year and a half to return to in-person learning and had a decade-long setback in student learning. In addition, nearly 15 million children left school after covid-19. Greni questioned many times who thought about the well-being of the teachers. And Sánchez, in Guatemala, says he is still suffering the consequences of the stoppage: “Now we are starting to recover.”
Although teaching is a highly feminized career (73%), the profile of the dropout is usually male and is at the very beginning of their career or near the end, working in schools with a high vulnerable context. UNESCO data shows that after the pandemic, teacher attrition at primary levels increased considerably. The shortage also seems to affect certain disciplines such as mathematics and science and more vulnerable schools or those of indigenous origin.
“More practical training is necessary”
But what can change the training of teachers in the educational system? Verónica Cabezas, executive director of Choose Educar, a public-private initiative dependent on the Chilean Ministry of Education and the Public Policy Center of the Catholic University, is clear: everything. The key for the Chilean lies in three main points: “It is necessary to have more practical training that is closer to the territories where classes are taught, understanding the students’ context well; monitoring that does not end with the magistrate’s graduation, but continues in the first year of internship; and a solid socio-emotional orientation.” And she adds: “Teaching students have to know what it means to teach long before they graduate” since in cities like Buenos Aires, for example, only one in three teaching students graduates.
Endless hours, low salaries and a heavy workload. Although the teaching scene in the region has many things to improve, the three teachers interviewed cannot imagine doing anything else. Experts, however, point out that vocation and passion cannot be the only pillars on which such important work is supported. “Our office is a classroom full of children,” adds Grani. “Teachers have to understand that the higher quality of the educational system is a benefit for them; the students. It is necessary that they try teaching as soon as possible to know if they like it or want to give up. I am clear that I will do this until I retire.”
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