UAE head teachers speak of struggle to recruit skilled talent amid global teacher shortage
In the UK, one in three teachers quit the profession within five years of qualifying Schools in the UAE are having to deal with a worldwide shortage of well-qualified teachers, as head teachers struggle to recruit talent. When schools advertise for a teaching position, they get hundreds of applications — but only a handful are qualified or match the criteria, according to UAE principals. The world was already going through a shortage of teachers before the pandemic, which exacerbated the situation. Many teachers around the world have been quitting the profession due to burnout, work pressure, low wages and extra duties because of unfilled vacancies. According to Unesco figures from 2016, nearly 69 million new teachers were needed to provide quality universal primary and secondary education by 2030. Deepika Thapar Singh, head teacher at Credence High School in Dubai said: “There is a shortage of good teachers across the world and that same shortage is what we feel here. “It is n...