It is disheartening to see another case of teacher suicide last month. More dishearteningly, there have been at least six similar incidents since 2008. Something should be done to counter this trend before more lives are needlessly lost. What made them end their lives? Stress is undeniably the main culprit. Firstly, teachers are saddled with the responsibility to lift their students academically. Every responsible teacher endeavours to search for the best material and teaching method. However, this lofty goal is difficult to attain because some students attach little or even no significance to their studies. At the same time, teachers work unusually long hours these days. Not only do they have to wake up early to ensure that they arrive at school on time, but they also get to sleep late to finish marking and prepare for the next day's class. Teachers are faced with tremendous pressure from parents. Nowadays, most parents have to work to make ends meet and so put the onus of educating their children entirely on their teachers. In addition, office politics are omnipresent and schools are no exception. Every teacher is under enormous pressure to play this game because whether they will be promoted or demoted hinges on this. Decreasing student enrolment also plays a role in teachers' stress. Most teachers are tormented by the prospect of being laid off. There can no longer be any excuse for the government to continue to turn a blind eye to this burning issue. There are two viable options to address this problem, including hiring more teachers. For example, if 10 more teachers were hired for a school of 50 teachers, the stress would undoubtedly be reduced and fears of being laid off alleviated. Having smaller classes is another possible antidote. With fewer students in each class, teachers' workload would be reduced accordingly. More importantly, more teachers would be needed in this mode of teaching and thereby the threat of being retrenched would vanish at once. Ho Kam-tong, Yuen Long
