Deaths of professors threaten quality of education

A serious decline in the number of university teachers and researchers is threatening the quality of higher education in Madagascar, the president of a union representing workers in the sector has warned.

About 40 teacher-researchers had died during the country’s second COVID-19 wave, said Faliarivony Randriamialinoro, president of the union SECES.

“I cannot confirm that coronavirus has taken them but, whatever the cause, it’s a great loss for higher education. A loss of human capital and a loss of intellectual capital at the same time,” L’Express de Madagascar reported him as saying.

The ratio of teachers to students was worsening with the deaths; according to UNESCO, the norm was 30 students per teacher while, in Madagascar, it was nearly 60 students, and the number of teachers was declining each year, reported L’Express.

In the university year 2019-20, about 100 teachers had retired, according to SECES, and understaffing was getting worse with the health crisis. Toliara University, which was already short of teachers, had lost six professors, reported L’Express.

Randriamialinoro was worried about their replacements. “Nearly 35% of the teachers who have died are professors. We cannot replace them from one day to the next. Of course, we will make arrangements to replace them physically … but the capability will not be the same. It takes several years of work and research to become a professor,” L’Express reported him as saying.

The former president of Antananarivo University, Panja Ramanoelina, added: “The decease of tenured professors is problematic for training their successors. They are the only ones authorised to approve PhD theses.”

SECES was demanding more recruitments to close the gap, reported L’Express.

Andry Rasoanaivo, director of statistics, planning and monitoring at the ministry of higher education and scientific research, said the ministry had its policy and was “in tune” with SECES.

“We are aware of this ratio; we have negotiated to have 1,250 posts budgeted for the next three years.

“We shall give preference to PhDs in recruitment,” L’Express reported him as saying. — Compiled by Jane Marshall.

This article is drawn from local media. University World News cannot vouch for the accuracy of the original reports.