In most countries doing well right now educationally, their teachers are revered. They get paid on par with doctors and engineers . . . . – President Barack Obama in Decorah, Iowa.
Recently, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, principal of the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies, raised the issue of differential payment for teachers of science and mathematics.
The issue of differential payment across different subject areas is not new. According to Chronicle Of Higher Education, professors in engineering, management studies and computer science rake in more dough than those in gender studies, architecture and health. Law professors top the bar with annual pay cheques in excess of $134 000 while those in gender studies, architecture and the health sector receive salaries of less than $100 000 per year.
So important is this issue of payment and investment in teacher and teacher training that President Obama raised it while speaking during a Midwest tour in Decorah, Iowa, in 2011.
He was reported as saying: “In most countries doing well right now educationally, their teachers are revered. They get paid on par with doctors and engineers because there is an understanding that this is a critical profession for the future of the nation.”
According to FactCheck.org, Linda Darling-Hammond testified before Congress that many high-performing countries made substantial investment in teachers with salaries competitive with other professions such as engineering. It was her assertion that in Singapore, beginning teachers were paid better than beginning doctors.
The Jamaica Observer, in its editorial of September 24, asked whether teachers of mathematics should be paid more (www.jamaicaobserver.org). In the case of mathematics this year, Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) pass rates declined from 33.2 per cent to 31.7 per cent.
The true situation is even worse than that for according to the Sunday Observer, CSEC data shows that for the last ten years, more than 70 per cent of 11th graders, in any given year, leave high school without even sitting maths.
And at the lower age group level, only 43 per cent of Grade 4 students achieved mastery in 2011, an increase over the 34 per cent in 2010, but way below the ministry’s target of 85 per cent by 2015.
The context in which the matter was raised by Sir Hilary had to do with how do we attract and retain quality teachers in the areas of mathematics and science. He recalled that given the importance of medicine to regional and national development, a decision was taken many years ago to pay professors in the sector at a higher rate.
Implicit in the distinguished scholar’s argument is that mathematics and science are key areas of need to the region and the notion of differential payment for teachers in these areas might be a solution.
On the surface of it, the argument is strong. The reality is that graduates with first class and other honours degrees in maths and science are lost to teaching as the private sector fields of accounting and computer science soak them up. The lure of higher salaries for such teachers may be an idea worth considering.
However, if payment and remuneration are to be linked to societal needs, why single out mathematics and science when there are other areas in which there are serious deficiencies?
Given the fact that the Caribbean Examinations Council has also reported declines in both English A and English B, and most university graduates lack communicative competency to the extent that many cannot construct a basic sentence, why not pay English teachers more?
And what about teachers of foreign languages? How are we going to attract more qualified professionals in the field of agriculture as societies, regional and global, grapple with massive food import bills?
This is the concern of distinguished Jamaican educator Mr Wesley Barrette, who cautions against the consequences of making salary distinctions between teachers in this manner.
But while the discussion continues, the reality remains as the region struggles with depressed performance in science and mathematics. Special pay may seem to be an easy solution but it might open a whole new can of worms. We must all remember that there are no problem-free solutions and that each solution brings its own challenges.
• Matthew D. Farley is a secondary school principal, chairman of the National Forum on Education, and a social commentator. Email [email protected]
