Not stealing Jamaican teachers

A United States teacher recruitment agency is making it known that, unlike its counterparts, it is not in the business of draining the Jamaican education system of its finest educators, even as the island struggles to keep teachers in its classrooms.

Foreign Academic and Cultural Exchange Services (FACES), a J-1 cultural exchange programme based in South Carolina, said instead its mission is to give the educators international exposure, new teaching techniques and technology-driven skills they can implement when they return to their home country after three to five years.

The agency’s position comes at a time when Jamaican schools are grappling with teacher shortages and migration, particularly in specialised subject areas.