The continuing unrest across the Middle East may be deterring teachers from applying for vacancies in British international schools, according to the UK’s leading online school recruitment service.
Eteach member schools in countries which have been experiencing unrest report that recruitment is slower than usual. These disturbances are also damaging recruitment in areas that have not been affected directly by the Arab Spring, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The problems in the region have also resulted in a number of school inspections being delayed because of concerns for the safety of inspection teams.
Recruitment in Bahrain and Egypt has been worst affected, along with Syria and Libya. Schools are finding that teachers looking for their first international post are avoiding these countries, whereas in the past they would have been enthusiastic to work there. Eteach’s Gerry Hillier-Manolas said: “Although they’ve previously recruited successfully with Eteach, some of our schools are still looking for teachers for next term. They are being honest about the situation in their host country, as they don’t want to recruit a new teacher who may end up returning to the UK almost as soon as they’ve arrived, leaving them in the lurch. However, teachers with several years’ international experience are more likely to consider these countries after undertaking their own research and discussing the situation with us.”
Teachers may be getting the impression that the whole of the region a dangerous place to work from reports in the media, according to a school in the UAE that recruits through Eteach: “We have not had a good response this year to jobs we have advertised. I think perhaps when candidates see ‘Middle East’, they assume there is unrest, which is not the case in the UAE, of course.” Some international schools in Egypt closed temporarily at the height of the unrest there, but school leaders worked hard to support staff and pupils and as a result retention has been successful.
Mrs. Hillier-Manolas added: “Eteach is committed to finding teachers for international schools but their safety is always our first priority. We will continue to give them the most accurate information available about whether the disturbances are a whole-country problem or confined to specific geographic areas, and advise them accordingly. After all, a riot in Glasgow wouldn’t make it unsafe to teach in Manchester!”
