Teachers ditch South Africa for bigger salaries abroad

Skilled teachers are leaving South Africa to pursue careers in Abu Dhabi, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

A study conducted by University of KwaZulu-Natal master’s student Tatum Niemack, found that local teachers are leaving the country for financial, social, religious, and political reasons.

A big incentive to want to make the move to the United Arab Emirates, is the high salary the Sunday Times said, noting that teachers in Abu Dhabi can earn between R50,000 and R78,000 per month, up to five-times more than a local salary.

South African Council of Educators (Sace) spokesperson Thembinkosi Ndhlovu called the trend a worry for local skills development.

“This has implications for the brain drain and is leaving the country in short supply of valuable experience and good teachers,” he said.

“Teachers, especially experienced ones, leaving the profession is not good for the country as invested knowledge and skills are needed.”

Cape Town teacher-placement agency SA-Recruitment said that close to 80 teachers had been recruited through the agency for Abu Dhabi posts in the past two years.

Teachers who make the move are provided with housing, medical insurance, and flight allowances for them and their family as part of the recruitment package, the report said.

Additionally, a month’s salary is offered as a bonus for every year they work there and is paid out at the end of their contract.

SA-Recruitment stated that most teachers who apply for placement through the agency request to work in Abu Dhabi specifically, because of the much higher tax-free salaries.

The National Professional Teacher’s Organisation of SA (Naptosa) executive director Basil Manuel told the Sunday Times that local teachers can easily find employment abroad.

“We don’t believe the government sees this as a problem,” Manuel said.

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