1 Feb 2005

Samoa looks at new ways to stop teachers leaving the profession

7:23 pm on 1 February 2005

Samoa's education department is considering new strategies to stem a decline in the number of teachers.

The department's chief executive, Tautapilimai Levaopolo Esera, says schools will start the year short-staffed, especially lacking maths and science teachers.

He adds that he received more teacher resignations today.

Tautapilimai says he's increasingly relying on employing teachers who've trained outside the country.

"Towards the end of last year we had lost something like 64 teachers, compared to just over 50 coming out from our teachers' college."

Tautapilimai hopes more can teach part-time but he says it's difficult for private sector employers to release workers on that basis part-time.