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Educating the teachers

7 May 2008

New report aims to help African ministries of education formulate and implement teacher education and management policies and strategies

Key areas of concern in the provision of teachers and educational staff in Africa are highlighted in a new report commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA).

The report - ‘The provision of teachers and education personnel for post-primary education’ - will be presented on 8 May at the 2008 ADEA biennial conference, which is taking place in Maputo, Mozambique.

“The overarching aim of the report is to provide African ministries of education and their stakeholders with information and analysis to help them formulate and implement teacher education and management policies and strategies," said Virgilio Juvane, Adviser at the Secretariat’s Education Section.

“In addition, the report also showcases how different countries have begun to address areas of concern. We hope that this will lead to an improvement in the quality of teachers and other personnel in the education sector, and in particular in post-primary education.”

Case studies were carried out in four Commonwealth countries: Ghana, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia, as well as one Francophone country, Togo. Mr Juvane says that in choosing these countries they had hoped to get a fair idea of what is happening in terms of post-primary teacher provision across Africa.

“Rapid and extensive” educational change

The fieldwork was undertaken against a background of increasing pressure on African education ministries attempting to address “rapid and extensive” educational change in recent years.

The success of initiatives such as Education for All (EFA) and the drive towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals in education has resulted in new demands being placed on secondary education structures, including the supply of teachers and education management personnel.

In practice, this means that primary school teachers are being shifted into secondary schools, draining already limited resources at lower levels of education, and compromising quality at both levels. Many teachers are being ‘fast-tracked’ into their jobs, when they lack the appropriate qualifications and skills for the level of work required by them.

While it is good news that many more children in Africa are receiving basic education, the demand for post-primary education is also growing in tandem.

According to the report “with the restructuring of the schools in order to respond to the needs of EFA and the introduction of basic schools, many education systems found a mismatch between the nature and functions of their existing teacher education providers and the changed needs of the system.”

Long-term planning

The focus on primary and basic education has meant that long-term planning by governments at post-primary level has been neglected, particularly in the field of technical and vocational education (TVET). The report found that planning has often taken place against a background of crisis.

Mr Juvane explains that this is of particular concern in TVET: “Africa needs a skilled workforce in order to sustain the current unprecedented economic growth rates since 2000,” he says.

According to the report, the socio-economic context of a country has a crucial relevance to the preparation of teachers and the delivery of a quality education service. The researchers found that poverty was a major concern in all the countries involved, while the incidence of HIV/AIDS poses a major constraint on the education systems of some of the countries.

The report also highlighted the important role that external funding plays in the development of the education sector.

Attracting teachers to rural posts

Several examples of how countries are attempting to tackle the problem of teacher retention were reported. This is a serious issue in Africa, where teacher salaries are generally low compared with similar professional jobs, and promotion opportunities are limited. In addition, attracting teachers to rural posts is a particular problem.

Ghana, which has attempted to focus its resources on rural areas, provides bicycles, free housing and a shorter period of service to qualify for study leave.

Uganda offers secondary teachers a supplement of up to 25 per cent through funds raised by school fees, as well as pensions, study leave with pay, maternity leave with pay, and scholarships. Zambian teachers can access rural hardship allowances, retention allowances, ‘double class’ allowances and extra duty allowances.

But the study noted that many of these mechanisms would not be necessary if sufficient career and professional development opportunities were available to teachers.

The study, conducted over three months last year, is closely linked to the work of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Education Section on teacher education and training. It also addresses the theme of the ADEA biennial conference, which is focusing on post-primary education in Africa.

The provision of teachers and education personnel for post-primary education