Teacher Recruitment and Compensation Policies and the Growth of Enrollment in the Countries of the Sahel
In attempting to understand the lagging development of education systems in the Sahel and the slow pace of progress as reflected in low enrollment and inefficient systems, it is worth asking: why has the region fallen behind? Is it because the Sahelian countries face particularly onerous demographic and economic constraints? Or have their policies been less appropriate? These questions are explored with Alain Mingat, professor at the University of Burgundy and researcher at the Economics of Education Research Institute (Institut de recherche sur lâéconomie de lâéducation). Professor Mingat analyzes the impact of the various factors responsible for the education gap, enhancing his examination with comparative analysis between the Sahelian countries and other developing countries outside Africa. At the heart of the problem lies the issue of teacher salaries.
Question: According to some education economists, inadequate management of education systems is the primary cause of the slow progress in sub-Saharan Africa. What do you think?
Alain Mingat: It is often thought that demographic and economic constraints are at the origin of the regionâs education gap. But that isnât true. A study of the effectiveness of education systems as compared with education budgets, accompanied by a more detailed analysis of the factors explaining the difference between sub-Saharan Africa and countries in the rest of the developing world, shows that demographic and economic constraints are not the primary cause of the regionâs slow progress. This is particularly true for the Sahel region. Other countries with budget resources comparable to those of their Sahelian counterparts have succeeded in developing their education systems much more quickly. In fact, you could say that there is a fundamental systems management problem.
Q.: The education systems in the Sahelian countries are not particularly effective?
A.M.: One crude but simple way of measuring the effectiveness of education systems is to compare two parameters: the coverage provided by the systems and the volume of government spending allotted to them.
When we do that, we see that many countries with comparable budget resources achieve coverage that is markedly higher than in the Sahelian countries. This significant difference is reflected in the effectiveness indicator measuring the use of government funding in the schools, which ranges up to three times as high when we compare the Sahelian countries (0.62) with other African countries (1.27) and other developing countries where per capita GDP is below US $1200 (2.47).
If we study the question further, we find that the French-speaking African countries generally have extremely high unit enrollment costs. Among the countries of the Franc Zone, the countries of the Sahel have particularly high unit costs, because they are two and a half times higher than those found in developing countries outside the Franc Zone.
Education is thus a particularly expensive service in the Sahelian countries. This expense is a considerable obstacle to increased enrollment.
Q.: How much ãresponsibilityä do salaries bear for the high cost of education?
A.M.: At the primary level, where social and pedagogical spending represent a smaller portion of overall unit cost, the unit cost depends above all on two factors: average teacher salary and student-teacher ratio. Where these two factors are concerned, the situation varies widely from one country to the next. For example, the student-teacher ratio for 1993 runs from 20-25 students per teacher in countries like Jordan, Indonesia, and Bolivia to more than 60 in Bangladesh or Burundi.
The range of teacher salary levels, expressed as units of per capita GDP, is even more significant, because they vary by a ratio of one to nine. In 1993, the level of teacher salaries in the Sahelian countries (7.3 times per capita GDP) was markedly higher than the level in developing countries outside Africa (2.7 times per capita GDP).
The ease with which teachers in various countries are recruited at much lower salaries than those of their ãtenuredä counterparts proves that current teacher salaries are not just higher than in other groups of countries in Africa or the rest of the world, but are significantly higher than the equilibrium wage within the countries themselves. For example, when Senegal recruited volunteers at one-third the salary for ãtenuredä teachers, there were 28 candidates for every opening. In Maliâs community-based schools and Chadâs spontaneous schools, teachers are paid by the communities. They often receive less than half of the salaries paid to public school teachers, and do not enjoy the advantages of being members of the civil service.
Q.: If we place the problem in its economic and demographic context, how do we explain the low enrollment in the Sahelian countries as compared with other developing countries?
A.M.: The Sahelian countries have a net primary enrollment rate of only 24%. This is markedly lower than what we find in other developing countries outside Africa (67%). Comparatively speaking, this means that the Sahelian countries produce 2.8 times less human capital at the end of primary school. How can we explain the difference?
At the primary level, five main factors affect enrollment: (i) the volume of resources earmarked for primary education; (ii) the effectiveness of the system (which accounts for repetition and dropout rates); (iii) demographic pressure; (iv) the student-teacher ratio; and (v) teacher salaries. The more resources countries put into primary education, the more effectively they use the resources, the lower their demographic pressure, the higher the student-teacher ratio and the lower their teacher salaries, the more human capital is created.
In comparing other countries to those of the Sahel, we find that other countries generally allocate more resources to the primary level, use these resources more efficiently, have less demographic pressure, have a lower student-teacher ratio, and pay their teachers significantly less.
An analysis of the relative ãresponsibilityä of each of the factors that combine to produce poor education system coverage in the Sahelian countries shows clearly that teacher salary levels are by far the most important element. By comparison, their smaller volume of resources, less effective use of ressources and higher demographic pressure are minor constraints.
As a consequence, there is no doubt that the issue of teacher salaries must be at the core of any policy aimed at improving primary school coverage in the Sahelian countries. Itâs the salaries that are standing in the way of progress. At the current rate, if we do not address this issue, it will take more than a hundred years to get everyone enrolled.
Q: You recently helped organize a workshop on teachers and the growth of enrollment (Dakar, January 18-21, 1998). How are countries handling the problem?
A.M.: There is a clear perception that salary levels are an obstacle. Several countries are in the process of implementing less costly teacher recruitment policies, whether deliberately or implicitly: community-based schools in Mali, spontaneous schools in Chad, contract teachers in Guinea, and volunteers in Senegal provide some examples. However, these initiatives, which are often isolated efforts, have not been designed to last. What we need now is to make them permanent, to build a structural basis by developing a reliable and lasting corps of teachers.
The time is ripe for change. There is a collective and regional enthusiasm that we need to take advantage of. Even the teachers are becoming aware of their position as the cornerstone of the system, and they donât want to be responsible for its failure. There is also a sense of cultural change in the willingness to take a clear-eyed approach to the problem. We find ourselves at a crossroads, in a situation where everyone can win.
Who will benefit from these changes? Children who arenât in school yet. And the unemployed.
This wonât happen without causing other problems. How will the countries manage two parallel groups of teachers with identical responsibilities but very different status and compensation? This duality carries with it the germ of inevitable problems and tensions. But there are leaders in place today who are ready to confront the problems pragmatically. The seeds are sown.
Interviewed by
Thanh-Hoa Desruelles
ADEA Secretariat
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