Reaching the marginalized: EFA global monitoring report, 2010; 2010

PROGRESS TOWARDS THE EFA GOALSThe quality of educationFigure 2.44: The rate at which new teaching posts arecreated will need to increase if universal primary educationis to be achieved by 2015Annual growth in teacher posts needed to reach universal primaryeducation by 2015, selected countriesBeninSenegalGuineaBurundiLiberiaCongoMaliTogoViet NamGambiaPalestinian A. T.U. R. Tanzania1 KenyaComorosRwandaCôte d’IvoireUgandaD. R. CongoDjiboutiBurkina FasoNigerChadEritreaAfghanistanBangladeshTimor-LesteSudanMalawiPapua N. GuineaC. A. R.Observed growth higher than neededObserved growth lower than neededNo observed data to compareObserved 1999-2007Needed 2007-20150 5 10 15 20Annual growth rates (compound) in teaching staff (%)Note: Only countries in which the current number of teachers must expand byat least 30% to reach the projected number needed to achieve universal primaryeducation on time are included.1. Kenya’s observed growth rate between 1999 and 2007 was -0.1% but forexpositional purposes this is not shown here.Source: UIS (2009e).The capacity of countries to finance increasedrecruitment varies, but for many the prospect ofclosing the gap will hinge partly on aid donors.A sustained push to recruit teachers will increasethe future recurrent costs that governments haveto plan for. For low-income countries with a limitedrevenue base, multiyear aid commitments overfive to ten years, backed by predictable delivery,will be vital to the sustainable financing of teacherrecruitment. This will require both an increasein aid and a radical change in aid managementpractices – issues discussed in Chapter 4.Recruitment is just one part of a far wider setof issues that governments have to address.In many of the world’s poorest countries, theproblem involves not just low teacher numbersbut also poor teacher morale. Attracting andretaining well-qualified candidates is increasinglydifficult, as many countries’ high attrition ratesshow. Low pay is endemic, a problem that inmany countries not only hinders recruitmentof able candidates but forces many teachers tosupplement their salaries, thus reducing the timethey devote to teaching. In Bangladesh, teachers instate-aided schools are paid less than US$1 a day,and two-thirds report undertaking additionalincome-earning activities (Financial ManagementReform Programme, 2006).Teacher salaries are a contentious issue in manycountries. Governments face an obvious dilemma:how to increase teacher recruitment withoutcreating unsustainable budget pressures. Somecountries have attempted to address this dilemmaby reducing salary costs, notably by hiring fewerteachers under standard civil service pay termsand hiring more contract teachers at lower levelsof remuneration and benefits. Finance ministriesand several aid donors have actively encouragedmore contract employment. The risk is that thiswill lead to recruitment of less qualified candidatesand to even more pressure on teachers tosupplement their incomes through other formsof employment, with attendant implications formorale. There is evidence from West Africa thatincreased recourse to contract teachers hascompromised education quality (UNESCO, 2008a).While a balance has to be struck betweenaffordability and good teaching, the limitsto cost-cutting also have to be recognized.Governments and donors need to ensure thatteacher pay and conditions reflect a commitmentto delivering good-quality education througha well-qualified and motivated workforce.In many of theworld’s poorestcountries, theproblem involveslow teachernumbers or poorteacher morale117