Due To Teacher Shortage And COVID-19 Pandemic, New Mexico Deploys National Guard To Teach In Schools

Illustration of New Mexico National Guard soldiers with school students. (Wikimedia Commons/Sgt. 1st Class Anna Doo)

JAKARTA - Members of the National Guard in New Mexico, United States have started teaching substitutes with the governor saying he will do the same in an effort to keep students in classrooms during the COVID-19 wave.

Parents and public workers are volunteering in schools across the country to address the teacher shortage. Michelle Lujan Grisham, the Democratic Party politician who serves as Governor of New Mexico, went a step further in asking members of the National Guard to volunteer as surrogates.

More than 60 schools in New Mexico have switched to distance learning since the winter break. However, according to a legislative report, online learning has proven disastrous for students in a state that already ranks lowest for education.

Since Lujan Grisham issued a call for the Guard and state employee volunteers last week, 59 people have been allowed to teach after background checks and online training, the state education department said.

Lujan Grisham has also completed the process and will announce his plans this week, spokeswoman Nora Sackett said in an email.

The New Mexico Republican party called his move to teach a "publicity stunt" and said he was allowing a teacher shortage to occur.

"This is an act of desperation," Republican Executive Director Kim Skaggs said in a statement.

Schools across New Mexico had more than 1,000 unfilled teaching positions as of October 2021, nearly double the previous year, according to a New Mexico State University study.

The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating teacher resignations, as socioeconomic conditions worsen for students in one of the poorest US states, researchers found.

To stem the exodus of teachers, the governor has asked for funds to raise wages of up to 7 percent.

Meanwhile, education unions have backed the governor's replacement teacher plan, on the condition that it is an emergency measure and not a long-term fix.

"This is a great idea to try to tackle the crisis," said New Mexico National Education Association President Mary Parr-Sanchez.

Separately, in neighboring Texas, parents are stepping in to keep face-to-face classes going as teachers stay home with COVID-19.

"It's unpredictable, we don't know what day a lot of people will be out," said Marisela Maddox, one of about half a dozen parent volunteers at Austin's Jewish Academy.