the use of contract teachers in sub-saharan africa: a review of the situation in 24 countries

THE USE OF CONTRACT THE USE OF CONTRACT TEACHERS IN SUB-SAHARAN TEACHERS IN SUB-SAHARAN

AFRICA:AFRICA:

A review of the situation in 24 countries

ByMartial DembéléAmita Chudgar

Isatou Ndow

9th International Policy Dialogue Forum December 3-7, 2016, Siem Reap

OutlineOutline Context + methodology Brief history and main reasons Types of contract teachers + size overs the years Main differences between fixed-term contract teachers and open-ended appointment/ permanent teachers Pathways out of fixed-term contract status Overarching observations Notheworthy trends and innovations/measures Concluding notes

ContextContext International commitments to EFA ===> increased teacher demand + shortages in LICs, SSA in particular Economic context marked by reduction of public finances ===> challenge: ensure adequate teacher supply to respond to system needs, at reasonable costs, while ensuring teacher quality (UIS, 2006) Available policy options: modify structural elements of the teaching profession (World Bank, 2010; Santiago, 2002), including:• ITE entry or exit requirements;• length of ITE;• remuneration + social benefits• statuses + career structure• workload

Context Context (2)(2) Trends in policy over the past two decades: modification of most elements above, in particular lowering of ITE entry requirements and length + massive recruitment of non permanent teachers under various contractual arrangements Recruitment of contract teachers = a worldwide practice, even in HICs, but unusually high proportions in SSA since the mid-1990s, with likelihood of continuation in context of Education 2030 F4A and SDGs Characteristics of contract teachers compared to civil service colleagues: lower academic credentials, little or no professional preparation, uncertain career prospects and lower salaries ===> concerns among various actors re: motivation, occupational commitment, retention, performance, and especially quality of education Stocktaking review by ITTF = a contribution to responding to question

Context Context (3)(3) Stocktaking review of the situation by ITFT = a contribution to responding to the question:

How can SSA countries and their partners address persisting teacher challenges and create opportunities for achieving the global goal of ensuring that all learners are “taught by qualified, professionally-trained, motivated and well-supported teachers”?

More specifically:1) What is the current state of the practice of

hiring teachers on contract basis in various Sub-Saharan countries?

2) What are the issues raised by the use of contract teachers in different countries?

3) What solutions have countries put forward or envisaged?

4) What does this review suggest to improve the situation?

MethodologyMethodology 24 participating countries: 9 English-speaking; 12 French-speaking; 3 Portugese-speaking 24 national experts tasked with:

1) producing a synthesis of relevant publications and reports on teacher issues in the country;

2) completing a questionnaire on various teacher issues + a set of statistical data gathering tables on teachers;

3) conducting semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders, including teachers themselves; and

4) analyzing the data thus gathered and producing a national report.

3-member team of international experts tasked with providing input at design phase and feedback on the national reports, in addition to preparing a comparative regional synthesis.

SELECTED FINDINGS

When did the participating countries When did the participating countries begin hiring teachers on contract basis begin hiring teachers on contract basis

and why?and why? A practice that is not new (e.g. case of Ethiopia) e, especially in private schools Landmarks and critical factors in recent history:

• Attainment of independence• Major post-independence political changes (e.g. revolutions [case of Ethiopia in 1974])• Armed conflicts (e.g. Mozambique)• Major changes in the education sector (e.g. system restructuring [case of Kenya in 1985], decentralization, etc.)• Rapid growth of eligible population and high PTRs• Teacher wage bill, economic hardships and subsequent SAPs and their consequences (employment freezes, closure of pre-service teacher education institutions in some countries, etc.)• Low output of pre-service TE institutions• Teacher attrition and internal teacher migration• Commitment to EFA goals

Result: chronic teacher shortages

When did the participating When did the participating countries begin hiring teachers on countries begin hiring teachers on

contract basis and why?contract basis and why? (2) (2) Private schools: long history of hiring teachers on contract basis What is new:• Massive recruitment of teachers on contract basis in the public sector (especially at primary level) since the 1990s• Emergence of community-funded public schools in several countries (also recruting teachers on contract basis)• Increasing share of private sector in education provision in several countries (a sector where hiring contract teachers has been the norm and where there may be no sense of loyalty on either side)

Types of contract teachersTypes of contract teachers A term used to convey a greal deal of variation in hiring, retention, training and salary conditions Generally two main contract types:

fixed-term open-ended

Range: from experienced retired teachers (e.g. in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, The Gambia,) all the way to untrained local youth (e.g. in community schools)

Types of contract teachersTypes of contract teachers (2)(2)

Tableau 1Vue d’ensemble des appellations dans des pays francophones

PaysVacatair

eVolontair

eAgent

contrac-tuel de l'État

Enseignant communau-

taireService national

Contractuel du privé

Bénin ?B. Faso ?Cameroun Gabon ? Mali Niger ?Sénégal ? ?Togo

Numbers and proportions of Numbers and proportions of teachers by status over the teachers by status over the

yearsyears

Data available for few countries, especially trends over the years = evidence that many countries do not maintain or make available systematic data on their contract teachers = a result of deregulation? variation in what the term ‘contract teacher’ refers to? Data provided suggest rising numbers of fixed-term contract teachers


years years (2)(2)

Figure 1. Évolution du nombre d'enseignants au primaire selon le statut au Burkina Faso (2005-2015)


years years (3)(3)

Figure 2. Évolution du nombre d'enseignants au primaire selon le statut au Mali (2009-2014)


years years (4)(4)

Figure 3. Evolution of numbers of public primary schools by status in Uganda (2002-2013)

Main differencesMain differences Qualifications: principled expectation in majority of countries that same basic requirements apply to all regardless of status, but differences in practice, especially with respect to professional qualifications Salaries and social benefits: fixed-term contract teachers at a disadvantage in majority of countries Area of posting: deployment of contract teachers to hard-to-staff areas in several countries (Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Kenya, The Gambia, Senegal), meaning rural areas in most cases Age and experience: CTs generally younger ===> bias towards less experience on average

Diversity of pathways out of fixed-Diversity of pathways out of fixed-term contract statusterm contract status

Competitive recruitment exams (Bénin, BF, Kenya, Mali, Togo) Degree granting courses (Eritrea, Niger, The Gambia, Togo) Legally set period of service (Eritrea [90 consecutive days], Ethiopia [6 months], Mozambique [3 years?], Sénégal)

Overarching obervationsOverarching obervations Consensus regarding the positive contribution of contract teachers to widening access to education, especially at primary level But several concerns and issues raised by contractualization:

Declining social image and status of the teaching profession + differential treatment in terms of remuneration + unattractive working conditions (including lack of career prospects, high PTRs, etc.) ===> Weak attraction capacity of the profession + low morale & motivation ===> High turnover and worrisome levels of attrition ===> Potential negative impact on quality of teaching and, by extension, of student learning (see Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda, The Gambia, etc., for discussion of this concern/issue)

Noteworthy trends and Noteworthy trends and innovations/policy measuresinnovations/policy measures

Reversement d’une grande partie des enseignants contractuels dans la fonction publique (Burkina Faso, Gabon, Mali): refonctionnarisation? Career development scheme (Ethiopia) Financial incentives to retain serving teachers and attract capable candidates (Ethiopia, Kenya, The Gambia) Systematizing and supporting continuing professional development for teachers (Eritrea, The Gambia, etc.)

Noteworthy trends and Noteworthy trends and innovations/policy measures innovations/policy measures (2)(2)

“One of the innovations is the autonomy given to teachers to have their own Credit Union, where they can save their money and have access to credit without being looked low upon. Traditionally teachers were always seen in banks taking bank drafts in the form of advance salary payments and these incurred high interest leaving such teachers with almost nothing at the end of the month. Now with the GTU Credit Union, they can save and take from their savings or take a loan without feeling embarrassment.” (The Gambia report)

Concluding notesConcluding notes“If the authorities are willing to accept the miserable standards of the lower levels of stage II, they may get quick results of a kind by putting primary school graduates back into the schools as teachers without any training. […] If teaching at the upper levels of stage II is aimed at, it may perhaps be achieved by giving these same recruits a couple of years of teacher training.” (C. E. Beeby, 1966, The Quality of Education in Developing Countries, p. 123-124)“It is hardly necessary to add—though it is sometimes forgotten—that the reformer’s effort will be largely wasted if the salaries and conditions of service of the primary teachers are not such as to retain good people in the profession.” (Beeby, 1966, p. 129-130)

Concluding notes Concluding notes (2)(2)

Need to keep a careful eye on retention and attrition, given apparent association between age and status, and between status and number of years of teaching experience High attrition may lead to a situation where youth and relative inexperience are constant characteristics of the teaching force, with a lack of cumulative experience which, in turn, limits the development of collective expertise Relevance of the work of Huberman on teachers’ career cycle


Source: Huberman (1989)

Years of experienc

e

Career phases/themes

1-3 (career entry)

Survival & discovery (feeling one’s way)

4-6 Stabilization (consolidation of a pedagogical repertoire)

7-25 (mid-career)

Diversification/ experimentation/ activism

Taking stock/reassess-ment (self-doubts)

26-33 Serenity/ affective distance

Conservatism

34-40 Disengagement (serene or bitter)


“As the figure shows, there is a single stream at career entry, through the stabilization phase. There are then multiple streams at mid-career, converging again into a single path at the end. Depending on the previous trajectory, this final phase can be either serene or acrimonious. The most harmonious trajectory would be this one:Experimentation Serenity (serene) DisengagementThe most problematic trajectories would be these two:Reassessment (bitter) DisengagementReassessment Conservatism (bitter) Disengagement.”

(Huberman, 1989, p. 37-38)

ContactsContacts

[email protected]@msu.edu

[email protected]

9th International Policy Dialogue Forum December 3-7, 2016, Siem Reap

mailto:[email protected]

