Islands suffer from teacher shortage

Islands suffer from teacher shortage

KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: As an example of the limited
number of teachers in the Muna regency near here, an elementary
school teacher has been forced to teach six classes per day.

The teacher shortage was revealed to Southeast Sulawesi
Governor H. La Ode Kaimoeddin in his visit to island areas early
this week.

The lack of teachers has affected the educational standards in
the area, especially in the Tikep district, Antara reported on
Thursday.

Several elementary schools in the area have only one teacher,
who is forced to teach all classes from the first to the sixth
grade.

La Ndamu, a teacher, said he had to teach all six classes from
the morning until the evening.

"Each class has an average of 20 students," he said, adding
that the problem was made worse by the limited availability of
teaching materials, including teaching guide books.

He explained that the number of teachers in the area had
declined over the last four years as many teachers assigned there
moved to other areas.

L. Samudi, head of the local office of the Ministry of
Education and Culture, admitted that most teachers assigned to
work in the islands came from other areas.

"We even cannot prevent the teachers from moving to other
areas, as they usually do it stealthily," he said.