Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#Jamaica, April 15, 2024 – Jamaica’s teacher shortage is worsening as Schools in England increase the recruitment rate for qualified teachers outside of Europe according to reports.

Statistics show that in 2023, 1,100 work visas were issued to qualified secondary school teachers for England. This is more than the 555 visas issued in 2022 and the 205 in 2021.

From Jamaica alone, there were 486 qualified teachers recruited to England in 2023, twice as many compared to 2022.

Highlighting the seriousness of the impact this teacher brain drain has on Jamaica, Leighton Johnson, Head teacher and President of the Jamaica Teachers Association, reportedly highlighted that teacher shortages have been so severe that positions were unfilled for more than a year and where retired, untrained and teachers on vacation were hired.

Additionally, Johnson continued to point out that it’s much more serious than many realize as schools also had to cut subjects from syllabi, as they couldn’t find teachers to teach them. Also, some schools had to share teachers, some resorting to streaming so one teacher can teach two classes at once.

However, despite the unfortunate strain on the education sector, Jamaican teachers leaving for English Schools is fueled by the desire for better opportunities and Emiliana Vegas, a professor of practice at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education expresses this, featured in an article by The Guardian.

“The reality is that, from the perspective of a Jamaican teacher, moving to the UK to work is economically a good idea. Salaries and working conditions are much better in the UK than in most low- and middle-income countries, like Jamaica,” she maintained.

In their recruitment process, Johnson revealed in a report from the Guardian, that England has been going hard. He said they, alongside other countries, use advertising and seminars to attract teachers, as well as directly approaching them, offering higher salaries. Some, he says, are even given a stipend or payment of some kind to get them to go to England.

Johnson further informs that the recruiters will, through their networking, employ teachers to recruit other teachers, adding that Jamaican teachers are sought after by other countries like the US and Canada and the Middle East for their training and language skills.

Dan Moynihan, chief executive of the Harris Federation chain based around London, reportedly said they recruit Jamaican teachers because they can’t find any in England.

In 2023, the federation had officials fly to Jamaica where they held interviews and recruited 50 teachers mainly for Science and Math.

England’s increase in recruitment comes as the country reports having severe shortages in various subjects.

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#UnitedKingdom, April 15, 2024 – Upcoming African Caribbean Diaspora artists are being given the opportunity to live and work at King Charles 18th century Dumfries House in Scotland for three months, to hone their skills, reportedly due to an “artist in residence programme” being launched through King Charles’ charity.

This is an opportune development for aspiring Caribbean artists and comes after a collaboration between the King’s charity, that is the King’s Foundation and Maro Itoje, English rugby player and co-founder of Akjoe Residency, a charity that gives opportunities to artists from Commonwealth countries.

The programme will offer up to eight funded residencies annually and during the artists stay, they will be able to share their artistic views with exhibitions, open studios and talks; this is in line with Itjoe’s view that “art has the…ability to bring communities together.”

Featured in reports, Itoje describes the programme as providing a “haven” for established and upcoming artists, adding that the environment at Dumfries will be conducive to their development.

“They will benefit from being surrounded by the enriching ecosystem that Dumfries House provides as well as being a contributor to the growth of African art worldwide.”

Simon Sadinsky, executive of the King’s Foundation mirrors Itoje’s idea of the environment’s impact, while highlighting additional benefits of the programme saying, “The residencies, each lasting for three months, will give international artists the opportunity to gain inspiration from our beautiful Dumfries House headquarters while also benefiting from access to The King’s Foundation’s wide range of specialist workshops, expertise, and skilled craftspeople.”

Dumfries, used for education and training programmes, is open to the public all year round.

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer 

#Argentina, April 15, 2024 – Argentina is currently facing a shortage in mosquito repellents, a severely unfortunate development for the nation as it is now fighting a surge in dengue cases, in-line with PAHO predictions that the region will face its worst dengue season on record.

The mosquito repellent shortage was reportedly noticed in March 2024 and Argentina, according to the Ministry of Health, recorded over 163,000 cases with deaths in all age groups, more common for those over 80 years old.

The situation is widespread across Argentina as indicated by supermarkets putting on display “no repellent” signs.

Places where repellents are still available,  online spaces especially, are selling them at high prices.

As to the reason behind the shortage, BBC reports that it was told by one of the production companies (for repellents), that a forecast error was at fault and that manufacturing took months.  Additionally, mirroring this,  Mario Russo reports a supply and demand problem.

The Government is making efforts to have this sorted as soon as possible, but Argentinians, reports say, are not so hopeful as hundreds of thousands have already been infected.

Preventative measures such as repellents are crucial for Argeniniand who reply heavily on them, as they await the dengue vaccine which is already developed, but still In its early stages of distribution.