Teachers are the guiding path in every child’s life. As Karl Marx had put forward, “freedom of education shall be enjoyed under the condition fixed by law and under the supreme control of the state”. But teachers are not given a healthy life to work in for their as well as for a child’s growth. Recently the news that England’s teacher is planning to quit their job in about five years.
A survey conducted by the National Education Union (NEU) reveals that nearly half of state school teachers in England plan to quit in the next five years. This is because of the high workload and crippling stress. Department for Education statics shows that 41% of teachers leave after 10 years. Before the Covid pandemic in 2019, 51 percent said that they would leave within five years and 21 percent within two years.
The reason for this quit is due to many reasons why teachers suffer a lot and also for this drastic decision. Some of the reasons are-
Unmanageable Workloads
The workload was the overwhelming motivation for 65% of teachers in English state schools who expect to go within two years, and 63% of those departing within five years. Teachers feel that the education profession is not valued or trusted by the government and media. Responding to the survey, teachers said that their workload was either ‘unmanageable’ or ‘unmanageable most of the time’, for most of the from 35% in 2021.
Recruitment Issues
Teachers responding were asked about support-staff posts unfulfilled, with 74% of teachers in state-funded special schools and pupil referral units (PRUs) feeling that the situation has worsened. The recruitment process has stopped due to which the workload seemed to be unmanageable.
Teachers close to burnout
Teachers feel burnout and stress due to an overload of work. 41 percent feel stressed out at work. This in turn affects the teacher’s mental health as well as their well-being. Things that can be done to improve their wellbeing, are a clear majority in the volume of work.
Change must come from the top
Government should accept that the high workload was the problem and played a starring role in many contributing factors. Teaching is one of the fulfilling jobs, and people go into the profession because they want to make a difference. Yet the government makes it difficult to work collectively. Government should take initiatives to reduce the workload, and stress on teachers. Changes must come from the top.
