World Teachers Day 2012

Take a stand for teachers

Teaching in developing countries
Brussels, 11 October 2012
Dennis Sinyolo, EI Senior Coordinator, Education
and Employment

Outline
The teacher gap challenge
The quality challenge
The professional challenge
The financing challenge
What can we do about these challenges?
The teacher gap challenge

Globally, over 2 million teachers are needed to meet
the goal of universal primary education by 2015,
55% of them in Sub-Saharan Africa
There are 49 countries with a moderate teacher gap
(0.25-2.9%) and 34 countries with a severe teacher
gap (3-20%)


Source: UIS
Number of primary teachers needed to achieve UPE by region
Region Number of primary teachers
Arab states 243 000
North America and Western Europe 155 000
South and West Asia 292 000
Sub-Saharan Africa 1 115 000

Other regions

215 000
Countries with severe teacher gap (3-20%)
Djibouti, Kuwait, Occupied Palestinian
Territory, Qatar, Sudan, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Bermuda,
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Central African
Republic, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Cte d'Ivoire,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, EquatorialGuinea,
Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Mali,
Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda,
United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia
The quality challenge
Recruitment of unqualified, under qualified or contract
teachers to meet teacher shortages and to reduce costs
Mali, Niger, India, Nepal, Indonesia
Large class sizes (STRs: Chad-61; Rwanda-68; Liberia-82;
Central African Republic-84; Tanzania-54; Zambia-61)
Shortage of basic infrastructure, facilities, teaching and
learning resources

Quality education requires quality teachers
The professional challenge
Deprofessionalisation and casualisation of the teaching profession
caused by:
the recruitment of unqualified, under qualified or contract teachers
Low salaries and poor/deteriorating conditions of service for teachers
Accountability mechanisms based on competition rather than
cooperation among teachers and schools
Linking teacher performance and remuneration to standardised
assessments and its impact on the school curriculum and learners
Deskilling and loss of professional status for migrant teachers
Attack on teachers human, trade union and professional rights
Excluding teachers from education policy-making & social dialogue
Source: EIs report to CEART





The financing challenge

Too little money is invested in education:
Many states invest less 6% of their countries GDP on education
(global average for developing countries-3.8%) and allocate less than
20% of their national budgets to education e.g. This year Ugandas
education budget fell from 17 to 14 % of the national budget
The total external annual financing gap for basic education in poor
countries stands at $16 billion. In 2009, the total provided by all donors
was $5.6 billion
The 23 major bilateral donors that make up the OECD Development
Assistance Committee gave less than 3% of their total aid to basic
education
What can we do about these challenges?
To address the qualified teacher gap-for all levels of education, including
early childhood, primary and post-primary education (UIS to calculate
the entire teacher gap)
To focus on the Student to Qualified Teacher Ratio (SQTR) rather than
the STR, which may include unqualified teachers
ADOPT A LIFE-LONG LEARNING APPROACH TO TEACHER EDUCATION
Governments to invest in initial teacher preparation, to recruit and
deploy female and male teachers in such a way that every child is taught
by a qualified teacher
Governments need to institute induction programmes for all newly-
qualified teachers and to invest in in-service training for all teachers and
school leaders
What can we do about these challenges (cont.)
To promote social dialogue and the involvement of teachers and their
organisations in policy development, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation
To improve conditions for effective teaching and learning (teaching and
learning resources, salaries and conditions of service for all teachers)
To promote and support establishment of teacher professional councils
Governments to invest at least 6% of their countries GDP in education
Development partners to allocate at least 10% of their development aid to
basic

EI/GCE campaign on teachers
Every Child Needs a Teacher: Trained teachers for all
Aim: To close the trained teacher gap by encouraging and
persuading governments and development partners to invest
in teachers (teacher training, recruitment, professional
development, salaried and conditions of service)
Target: 2 million teachers recruited by 2015


Money put into education is not an expense
but an investment. It is an investment in
our children, young people and the future
of our nations.

Thank you!


dennis.sinyolo@ei-ie.or
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