A growing number of South African teachers are leaving their posts for positions abroad.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the Citizen<\/a><\/strong>, the South African Council of Educators (Sace) said the exodus of young, qualified teachers was of great concern.<\/p>\n “This is a dire situation and it is not the first time that it is raised,” said Sace spokesperson Thembinkosi\u00a0Ndhlovu.<\/p>\n “We also dealt with this issue about a year or two ago after we realised that qualified South African teachers were leaving the country in their numbers to go abroad seeking greener pastures,” he said.<\/p>\n These issues align with a\u00a0report released<\/a> <\/strong>at the end of 2018 by University of KwaZulu-Natal master\u2019s student, Tatum Niemack.<\/p>\n The report found that South African teachers are being offered significantly higher salaries and working conditions by countries such as the UAE.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Additionally, a month\u2019s salary is offered as a bonus for every year they work there and is paid out at the end of their contract.<\/p>\n BusinessTech has also previously reported that countries like New Zealand are directly targeting<\/a><\/strong> South African teachers as they face education shortages of their own.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has implications for the brain drain and is leaving the country in short supply of valuable experience and good teachers,\u201d said Ndhlovu<\/p>\n “Teachers, especially experienced ones, leaving the profession is not good for the country as invested knowledge and skills are needed.”<\/p>\n Wages and other problems<\/strong><\/p>\n According to the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council, teacher salaries vary broadly in SA between R115,500 \u2013 and R993,500.<\/p>\n This is typically dependent on experience, private vs public schools wages, and seniority.<\/p>\n According to an April report<\/a> <\/strong>from relocation company CapRelo, local teachers earn an average of $19,452 (R273,209) annually \u2013 far less than the global average of $27,175.<\/p>\n However, low wages are not the only issues currently facing South African teachers.<\/p>\n