JTA president urges filling of vacant teaching posts ahead of September 2026

Jamaica Teachers’ Association president Mark Malabver is pressing for vacant classroom posts to be filled by September 2026, as some schools continue to feel the effects of a teacher shortfall.

Irie FM News reported that roughly 300 local teaching vacancies appeared in the print media a day earlier. Malabver said advertising on that scale is normal for this point in the calendar year, and that outward migration among teachers remains a significant factor.

He also described a newer pattern in which educators go on vacation leave and, near the end of that leave, tell their schools they will not come back. Subject areas under particular pressure, he said, include mathematics, literacy, music and geography.

Malabver warned that if a large share of the openings remain empty when the new school year begins, the education system will face added strain.