A 5-year teacher retention plan…

…for schools.

Hello all. Welcome to the 150th edition of TEPS Weekly!

This is the 150th edition of TEPS Weekly! We have been sending out this newsletter to educators not only across India but also across South Asia, South-East Asia, the Southwest Asia or Arabian Gulf, and even some African countries! One of the most common questions we are asked is, “How do you write so consistently? How have you never missed or even delayed a single edition?” The simple answer is that we love reading about education and we love writing about it too. The slightly deeper answer is that we work intensively with schools, school leaders and teachers – we hear about their concerns, we see their passion as well as their struggles in the classroom, and we deeply believe in the importance of good education for students. We use those experiences and insights to write the newsletter each week, and we have never run out of topics to write about.

Today’s edition is no different – it comes from a number of conversations we have had and some hard-hitting data we have accessed. And based on all of that, we are recommending a 5-year teacher retention plan that schools can use.

“What’s the point of TPD?”

This is a question that many school leaders have asked us. “What’s the point? Why invest in our teachers’ professional development when, next year, so many of them will leave for another school for just ₹1000/- extra per month?”

And this is a very real problem – multiple conversations have ended on this very point. Teachers DO leave, and they DO leave for small increases in salary. However, this is just the most visible reason. The data gives us a broader picture of why teachers may leave.

So, what does the data tell us?

The following graphs are based on the SOTTTER Report, 2023 put together by the Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education, TISS.

What percentage of private and government schools have basic working conditions in place?

Absence of basic amenities like functional toilets makes daily working life harder for teachers than it already is. So, teachers may leave one school for another that has better basic amenities. Or if a teacher feels that their basics are not going to be looked after, might as well get a little more money.

What percentage of teachers across private and government schools have written contracts?

If a teacher doesn’t even know whether they’ll have a job next year, why would they invest their heart in this one? A slight increase in salary certainly becomes more desirable if the current workplace does not promise sustained employment. Private schools are terrible at giving teachers a written contract, but it is a real surprise that one-fourth of the government teachers are also without written contracts!

What is the average salary of teachers across private and government schools?

The salary gap begins right from ECCE and widens further in primary and secondary – which means many private school teachers start planning their move to the government sector early in their career. A ₹1000 rupee increase for even a secondary school teacher is almost a 7.5% increase in salary. Why won’t the teachers leave?

What non-teaching responsibilities add to teachers’ workload across private and government schools?

When non-teaching responsibilities keep piling up, teaching stops being the main job – and that’s when even committed teachers start feeling they can’t keep up long-term.

What do teachers across private and government schools feel about trust and support they receive?

When teachers don’t feel trusted with planning, and support feels uneven, motivation drops, and retention becomes harder even for good teachers because a teacher feels that if I have to only ‘follow the textbook, I can do it anywhere’.

How can school leaders use this data to plan for teacher retention?

The data shows us that retention is not just about salary. Salary of course plays an important role in ensuring job satisfaction, but even high salaries will not be enough if basic work conditions and work culture concerns are not addressed. Based on this, we recommend the following 5-year retention plan that can also be used as a decision-making framework.

Year 1-2: Fix dignity basics

In the first 1-2 years, focus on the basics that make a teacher’s everyday work physically manageable. This includes a clean functional staff toilet, a staffroom where teachers can sit and plan, reliable teaching-learning materials and basic internet access. These may sound simple, but they shape how teachers feel walking into school each morning and whether the job feels workable, respectful and worth staying in.

Year 2-3: Build stability and predictability

Once the basics are in place, the next step is stability. That means written contracts, clear salary structures and predictable payment timelines, so teachers are not constantly unsure about what the next few months will look like. This is also the year to protect teachers’ time by reducing administrative responsibilities to around 10% of the workweek, so the remaining 90% can go where it belongs: planning, teaching, assessing and supporting students. Free AI tools can help tremendously in taking over tedious administrative tasks and free up teacher time.

Year 3-4: Improve professional trust and support

In years 3-4, shift from “retaining teachers” to “keeping teachers motivated.” This is where professional trust matters: give teachers real ownership over lesson planning within a clear curriculum framework, and invite their input into routines, timetables and classroom decisions. Build support systems that make good teaching easier – a shared bank of lesson plans, worksheets and assessments, along with weekly or fortnightly co-planning meetings that reduce isolation and help teachers learn from each other.

Year 4-5: Make growth pathways visible

By years 4-5, retention becomes less about avoiding exits and more about creating reasons to stay. Teachers need to see a future inside the school, not only as a “teacher,” but as someone who can grow into roles like Mentor Teacher, Lead Teacher or Coordinator. Make expectations clear at each level, and ensure recognition is real: more trust, meaningful responsibility and visible status.

In short, retention improves when schools treat teaching like long-term professional work, not short-term staffing. Fix the basics, make the job predictable, protect teachers’ time and build a culture of trust and growth. When teachers have dignity, stability, trust and a visible path to grow, they are far more likely to stay. And once teachers stay, investing in TPD stops feeling risky and becomes the natural next step – one of the strongest ways to improve student learning, parent satisfaction and overall school performance.

Thanks to thestaffroom.in for sharing their thoughts on private school teachers’ reality. They are trying to build some amazing databases for teachers and educators.

Things Education supports schools with such 5-year plans, right from conversations with the management to co-create the plan and training school staff on GenAI to free up administrative load to supporting teacher development with intensive, online and in-person trainings, curriculum and assessment resources, and growth pathways aligned to strengths and interests, all done in a data-backed manner. Reach out to us at info@things-education.com or +919898469961 to set up a conversation with us!

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Edition: 5.05