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"Bamako+5" Conference on Contractual Teachers
Co-organized by ADEA, the World Bank, Education International and the Ministry
of Education of Mali
(Bamako, Mali, October 27- 29, 2009)
1. Context
The number of teachers needed to attain Education for All (EFA) goals in Africa
has been estimated at 2.4 million (UNESCO Institute for Statistics/EFA). This
is, however, a conservative estimate, as consideration of attrition rates
varying from 5% to 8% under different assumptions, would produce the following
scenarios:
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2.7
million teachers at an attrition rate of 5%
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" 3.2
million teachers at an attrition rate of 6.5%
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" 3.7
million teachers at an attrition rate of 8%
In addition to the challenge
of supplying the required number of teachers, there is the question of whether
the teaching force can meet the quality criterion. Africa faces a number of
challenges/constraints that undermine national capacities to provide a sufficient
number of qualified teachers. These constraints include:
One of the major education policy issues that has emerged as a result of the
situation described above is the recourse to contractual or community teachers
to bridge the gap left by the shortage of teachers. In most cases, this new
category of teachers obtains very poor results, owing to their low educational
attainment and insufficient training, combined with unattractive terms of
employment. Instead of being a temporary stop-gap measure to cope with the
shortage of teachers, recruitment of contractuals has intensified, and in
some countries they now outnumber qualified teachers.
In November 2004,
the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), in partnership
with the World Bank and Education International (EI), organized a conference
in Bamako to address the recruitment and employment of contractual teachers
in Francophone African countries. A consensus emerged from the Bamako Conference,
now referred to as the Bamako Consensus, recognizing that
"the use of contractual
teachers offers a number of opportunities. All the countries that have taken
this path have made very significant progress in enrollment. However, recourse
to contractual teachers undoubtedly entails risks for the quality of the education
provided and for the retention and effectiveness of teaching staff. Countries
need to meet certain minimum criteria for recruitment, training, contracts
and working conditions. It is thus becoming increasingly urgent to implement
a framework for resolving questions on the recruitment, training, social protection
and career track of such teachers."
The conference therefore
recommended the development of a policy framework to assist governments in
gradually integrating and providing professional development for contractual
teachers in Francophone countries.
A follow-up workshop
held in July 2007 in Dakar produced preliminary versions of two instruments
designed to guide countries in their efforts to formulate policy in this regard:
- a policy framework for the recruitment, training and professional development
of contractual teachers;
- a policy framework establishing career tracks, opportunities for advancement,
guarantees of social protection, and the rights and obligations of contractual
teachers.
Click here
for more information about the context
2. Issues
See box 1 below for the issues of the 2009 Bamako Conference.
Box 1: Issues
of 2009 Bamako Conference
Recourse
to contractual teachers has raised - and continues to raise - a
number of questions concerning recruitment, training and working
conditions. While most of the countries concerned have recognized
the need for a minimum level of academic attainment to join the
teaching force (diploma attesting to completion of four years of
secondary education), the question of whether to raise this level
is currently on the table, owing to the progress made in knowledge
acquisition and enrollment as well as the deficiencies observed
in the performance of this category of teachers. Given the pool
of potential applicants for primary school teaching posts in the
countries concerned, is it worthwhile and feasible to raise the
required level of attainment today or in the near future? What consequences
would this have? Another issue related to recruitment is that of
how to select among applicants. Competitive examinations would seem
to guarantee the objectivity and transparency of the selection process,
as well as ensuring that the best applicants are hired. How then
can we explain the persistence of questionable recruitment methods?
Can we identify the best recruitment procedures and consider harmonizing
them?
The lack or insufficiency of pre-service training for contractual
teachers has been criticized by many, but the countries concerned
have made perceptible progress in this respect. However, the length
of pre-service training remains a subject of debate, with the tendency
being to call for longer pre-service training programs. Taking account
of the parameters relating to emergency situations and to long-term
prospects, what is the appropriate duration of such training today?
This question cannot be considered in isolation from those of the
content and objectives of pre-service training. In this respect,
it is necessary to consider the issue of the minimum or common core
of professional skills that are indispensable for doing the job.
Few countries have a functional, efficient and sustainable system
of in-service training. Traditional approaches - training courses,
seminars, inspectors' visits - cannot meet the needs of countries,
nor significantly change teachers' practices in the classroom. For
this reason, the thinking on teacher development processes is increasingly
turning toward reflective practice, peer exchanges and peer learning,
pedagogical support at local level, etc. Can we identify the most
promising systems and processes in this area, those best suited
to accompany and support teachers in their work?
In these new ways of looking at the problem, the leadership of schools
takes on particular importance, in terms of creating a school environment
favorable to efforts to improve performance through periodic evaluations,
recognition of merit, quality circles, teacher groups and pedagogical
advisors, school development projects, mobilization and unification
of energy and resources, etc. That being the case, what strategies
should be adopted to promote such school leadership on a large scale?
The redirection of in-service training toward professional development
also involves strengthening teachers' identity, ethic and motivation.
For this reason, the programs to be established must include systems
of accreditation and validation of this training, and must consider
the impact on career advancement. In the contexts considered, how
should such systems be designed and implemented?
Disparities in the terms of employment, particularly between permanent
teachers with civil servant status and contractual teachers, engender
discontent. Most countries have pledged to eliminate such disparities
gradually under the terms of a strategic plan. It seems that such
commitments are being acted on only slowly and running into various
obstacles (fiscal constraints in particular). It therefore seems
necessary to foster broad-based consultations among all the stakeholders
and partners concerned (including international partners such as
the IMF and World Bank) to seek joint solutions.
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3. Objectives
Apart from following up on the
2004 Bamako Conference, one of the key objectives of the Bamako + 5 Conference
is to learn about the scale of the use of contractual teachers in the Anglophone
and Lusophone countries of Africa, as part of the overall context of responding
to the teacher gap to achieve EFA. The conference will include a panel forum
to share good practice relating to the recruitment, training, use, professional
development and career management of contractual teachers.
4.Specific objectives
The conference will seek to achieve the following:
1. Take stock of progress
made in the eleven Francophone countries that participated in the 2004 Bamako
Conference, and the difficulties encountered, to advance toward the adoption
and implementation of the two policy and strategic frameworks on teachers'
professional development and career management;
2. Share successful experiences and lessons learned;
3. Collegial discussion of the policies and strategies to be promoted for
appropriate recruitment of teachers, including control over the data on
teacher supply and demand;
4. Promote dialogue on resource mobilization among the various stakeholders
and partners;
5. Explore the new opportunities available for teacher training and development;
6. Promote consultation and coordination of existing initiatives to support
teachers;
7. Promote and give incentive for good practice as regards harmonization
of the status and career possibilities of primary school teachers, based
on country experiences.
In order to achieve these
objectives, there will be an exhaustive review of existing case studies and
papers on policy concerning teacher development and career management. Other
studies are now in progress, and their findings should also contribute to
the discussions at the conference. Lastly, various contributions are expected
from the ADEA Working Groups, development partners, all active practitioners
of education, civil society, etc.
5. Expected outcomes
The conference is expected
to produce a number of reference documents:
1. A documented review
of the follow-up to the 2004 Bamako Conference;
2. An analysis of lessons learned from country experiences of the recruitment,
training and development of contractual teachers;
3. Contributions toward finalization of the two policy frameworks proposed
by ADEA on (i) the training and professional development of contractual teachers,
and (ii) the career track, opportunities for advancement, social protection
guarantees, and rights and obligations of contractual teachers;
4. Shared understandings on strategies and policies to raise resources for
recruitment and training of teachers and for the inclusion of contractual
teachers in the permanent teaching force (civil servant status);
5. Plans for networks or partnerships to exchange and share information on
teacher development, notably through the inter-country quality nodes;
6. A report of the conference proceedings.
6. Opportunities
The conference will make concerted efforts to shed new light on cross-cutting
issues that, in terms of the progress made in resolving them, contribute to
teachers' professional development. Initiatives aimed at lessening the impact
of HIV/AIDS, the difficulties of provision in fragile situations, and gender
prejudice are gradually changing the way we look at these issues. The latter
are no longer considered as barriers but as bridges to encourage teachers
to move forward. Other opportunities are more clearly seen as such: the use
of information and communication technology in education (ICTE) and the role
of universities in training and in the various reforms...Click
here for more information about the 'opportunities'.
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