Foreign teachers will be hired for vacancies in Male' schools if enough Maldivian teachers cannot be found before the start of the new academic year, Education Minister Dr. Ismail Shafeeu has said.
The latest records show that about 89 teachers were needed for Male' schools but only 57 new teachers were due to enter the field, Minister Shafeeu explained to Adhadhu.
A recruitment process was conducted in advance to hire foreign teachers for the shortfall of about 30 teachers, Shafeeu said.
"Ensuring education is obligatory by law. Therefore, if we can't get teachers from the Maldives, the practice in the system is to recruit and bring foreign teachers. We would only know the exact figure for the shortage when the slots for students enrolling in schools are confirmed," he said.
When the shortage is confirmed, foreign teachers identified through the recruitment process will be invited to come to the Maldives, Shafeeu said. Despite challenges to hiring enough teachers before the start of the academic year, the Education Ministry is working towards achieving the target, he said.
About 1,800 foreign teachers were working in the Maldives by the end of January with MVR 350 million a year spent on the expatriate workforce. Therefore, the government has been changing policies with a special focus on training Maldivian teachers and encouraging locals to enter the field.
