Madagascar public schools face teacher shortages
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Lexpress
Several public schools in Madagascar are operating with too few teachers, particularly in the Sofia region. One headteacher is teaching three year groups in three classrooms alone, while an official from the Ministry of National Education says corrective measures are being considered, Lexpress reports.
At a public primary school 20 kilometres from Madagascar’s capital, the headteacher, identified under the pseudonym Ms Landy, is teaching classes T1, T2 and T3 simultaneously, Lexpress reports. She has to move from one classroom to another during written tests to hand out papers and remind pupils of the instructions, while they chat and copy as soon as she leaves.
Two teachers were teaching classes T1 to T5 yesterday, although the school normally has three, including the preschool teacher. When the latter fell ill, preschool classes were suspended until her return, according to the headteacher cited by Lexpress. Madagascar’s Ministry of National Education says it is considering measures to address the shortage of teachers in public schools.
The situation comes amid a report that only 30.1% of Madagascar’s public-school teachers are qualified, according to an assessment published on 21 October. Madagascar’s education workers had also called for three months of backdated allowances on 7 October.
