NOT SO SIMPLE TO CUT A TEACHER’S WORKLOAD
Calls to let teachers focus on teaching neglect the reality that working with students involves much more than lesson preparation and marking. Teachers, as frontline individuals who interact with students daily, will inevitably be roped into administrative work, and serve as the main point of contact for parents.
Artificial intelligence is often held up as a promising tool for teachers in the tasks of teaching and assessment. However, teachers must still spend time interpreting and reviewing the output of AI assistants before providing feedback to students.
Hence, current MOE initiatives to ease teacher workload, such as streamlining of administrative processes, the use of technology and allowing schools greater flexibility in implementing certain policy initiatives, can only go so far.
Aspiring teachers must be aware that the moral purpose of “care” underlies a teacher’s work. As former Second Minister for Education Maliki Osman pointed out in 2024, “a teacher is one who is there to guide the student, go through the education journey holistically so that students also understand the teacher is available at any point in time”.
They therefore need to ask themselves whether their personalities and values are well-suited for the demands of teaching.
Founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew said in1966, “If I have to choose one profession in which you give the most for the least, it is probably teaching – if you take it seriously”.
These are sobering words to bear in mind as teachers’ workload continues to grow more complex in response to changes in the wider education landscape.
Jason Tan is Associate Professor in Policy, Curriculum and Leadership at the National Institute of Education.
