Teachers on the Move

Abstract

Emigration of qualified teachers from developing countries is a double loss for the source countries, not only leading to emigration of high-skill labour but also affecting their future developmental base when these countries are already struggling to meet the millennium development goals (MDGs) in education. This article discusses emigration of Indian school teachers driven by rising demand in the destination countries, their dissatisfaction with the Indian education system and desire for a better life. The developed countries facing shortage of teachers, are actively recruiting from the developing countries like India to fill the gaps in the demand and supply of teachers. The shortages are caused by demand supply imbalances due to unattractiveness of the teaching profession, mass retirement of the baby-boom population of teachers, and high rates of teacher turnover in the recruiting countries. Such circumstances compel them to recruit teachers from other countries, creating an international market for teachers comprising the recruiting countries, source countries, the teachers, and the recruiting agents. While India is considered a labour-surplus country, it has serious shortage of teachers especially in the rural areas. The shortages have been projected to rise after the enforcement of the Right to Education (RTE) Act. Hence, the obscured trend of rise in teacher migration from India calls for attention. The author utilises the findings of an empirical study on migration of school teachers from India to argue the need of reforms in the Indian education system which are imperative to retain qualified and motivated teachers within the system which is required to fulfill the educational goals.