The Other Side of the Coin – MCAST Lecturers Are Hurting Too
In the days following my article about the surge in mental health struggles among MCAST students, I was contacted by several educators. Their messages were heartfelt, and frankly, distressing. While much of the public attention has rightly focused on the impact of the post-dispute workload on students, what many don’t see is the parallel suffering occurring among lecturers themselves.
Behind the scenes, lecturers are carrying an enormous load. While doing their utmost to ease pressure on students—adjusting deadlines, avoiding back-to-back assessments, and opting for take-home tasks when possible—they are simultaneously drowning in their own responsibilities. The volume of corrections, the expectation to validate and verify colleagues’ work, the rush to condense syllabi into shortened timelines, and the mounting administrative duties are pushing many to the brink.
And they’re doing all this without access to dedicated mental health services, which, shockingly, have been removed.
Let’s be clear: this is not just about a stressful few weeks. It’s about the systemic neglect of educator wellbeing. Many of the lecturers reaching out to me are dealing with personal grief, health challenges, or major life disruptions—on top of a punishing workload. These are human beings trying to stay afloat in a system that seems to have forgotten them.
Academic research echoes what I am witnessing in practice. A landmark study by Soini et al. (2010) highlighted that teacher wellbeing is tightly interwoven with institutional support, manageable workloads, and opportunities for professional autonomy. When these are stripped away, the result is burnout, emotional exhaustion, and deteriorating mental health.
More recently, Johnson et al. (2022) examined the aftermath of systemic disruptions in education and found that educators often suffer prolonged emotional strain long after formal disputes are resolved. Without proper support, they become less effective, less resilient, and more at risk of serious mental health concerns.
To overlook the suffering of lecturers is to overlook a vital part of the educational ecosystem. Students and staff are not on opposite sides. They are part of the same fragile whole. If one group is collapsing, the other inevitably suffers too.
To MCAST leadership, my message is simple: support cannot be one-sided. Just as students deserve understanding and care, so do the educators who show up for them every day. Reinstate staff mental health services. Reassess workloads. Encourage flexibility and compassion from the top down.
The healing process must include everyone. Anything less is incomplete.
References
Soini, T., Pyhältö, K., & Pietarinen, J. (2010). Pedagogical well‐being: Reflecting learning and well‐being in teachers’ work. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 16(6), 735–751.
Johnson, B., Riley, P., & McLean, L. (2022). Educator stress and burnout in the context of systemic disruption: Lessons from the COVID-19 era. Educational Research Review, 36, 100457.
