Education officials discuss implementing the Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol in Asia

Senior education officials from Commonwealth Asian countries have called on governments and teacher organisations in the region to implement the Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol. Adopted by Commonwealth Ministers of Education in September 2004, the Protocol is intended to balance the rights of teachers to migrate internationally, on a temporary or permanent basis, against the need to protect the integrity of national education systems, and prevent the exploitation of scarce human resources in developing or low income countries.

Hosted by the Ministry of Education of Brunei Darussalam, the officials who were from teaching and public service commissions and teacher organisations in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Singapore and Sri Lanka as well as the Commonwealth Teachers Group and Education International, met in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam from 11 to 14 November 2007.

In his opening address to the meeting, Dato Paduka Haji Sheikh Adnan bin Sheikh Mohamad, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education of Brunei Darussalam, said: “Education in the Commonwealth will achieve its ultimate goals only through the efforts and support of all stakeholders, policy-makers, teachers, employers and children.

"Even if every child of the Commonwealth is in primary school by 2015, what will be the point if there are not trained teachers – and teachers of quality – in those schools as well? The critical role that teachers play in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals is without question.”

In a closing statement to the meeting, which is the third in a series of regional meetings being conducted by the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Education Section, officials called on the Secretariat to propose a strategy, based on the Protocol that governments can reflect upon when reviewing their recruitment, retention and teacher supply policies.

Click here for the communiqué

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