Teachers are exhausted

It is becoming increasingly difficult for teachers to do their work, and the pressure is spiralling out of control.

"The work burden placed on teachers has exceeded the pain threshold,” says Jacob Eli Olsen, chairman of the Teachers’ Association.

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“The number of teaching hours continues to rise, leaving teachers with less and less time to focus on the non-classroom-based aspects of their jobs.”

The overriding problem, he adds, is that state funding for schools only allows for teaching in large classes, which leaves little room for teachers to serve pupils who may not function well in large classrooms.

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“We also have an increasing number of pupils who do not have Faroese as their first language,” he says.

“Teachers do everything they can to help these pupils, but many teachers are finding it near impossible to give them the attention they deserve.”

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Olsen says it is high time that politicians open their eyes to this increasing problem.

“The responsibility placed on schools and teachers has increased greatly in recent years but the funding has not, and that is a big problem.”

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

More Faroese News in English.