A mass exodus is expected in another five to seven years when a number of seasoned teachers will be eligible for retirement.

Speaking during a tour of St John schools recently, Minister of Education Ronald Jones said about 900 teachers were currently being trained, and there was a move to get the training started before people entered the system

"We're conscious of it, and our own man-power planning will deal with the situation over time," said Jones, who will also be eligible for retirement during that time period.

While Jones said a number of people were expressing an interest in joining the teaching fraternity, he said he would also like to see more men showing interest in education. He said that of the 800 or so teachers at the primary level, only about 367 of them were men.

Few good men

"That is a small number, but we need that male presence. There is room and opportunity for men in education. Our system screams for more involvement of men,"
he stressed.

He added: "We have some good men in the system now, but we need more. And I think that they need to spread the message themselves to their colleagues, their friends, and we need sometimes to be a bit more aggressive in trying to recruit males for the classroom."

The minister said the experience and talents of the seasoned teachers would not be retired with them. Emphasising that any participation after retirement was up to the individual, Jones said the ministry would look to see how those teachers could still contribute by way of offering lessons, instructing at the community level, after school care, writing and the like.

"That's a body of talent, a body
of intellect that can be utilised to benefit the overall school system.The retired people have massive experiential resources that can be brought to bear on education and human resource development in Barbados," he added. (YB)