Drop non-performing teachers, World Bank Report

A new education report has proposed that all non-performing teachers be dropped from and hard-workers rewarded to improve quality of learning.

The World Development Report (2018) released this month further finds that teachers’ unions negatively affect learning outcomes and calls for an integrated effort among education sector players. (See separate story Page 21)

The World Bank report – Learning to Realise Education’s Promise – also pokes holes on teacher training across many African countries and faults the refresher programmes (in-service), casting serious doubts on whether they improve teachers’ knowledge in subject areas.

The report warns of a “learning crisis in global education” and adds that a well-prepared and motivated learner, an equipped and motivated teacher is the next fundamental ingredient for learning.

The study says although teachers draw the largest budget, with salaries that account for more than three-quarters of the education budget in low- and middle-income countries, many of them have little mastery of the subjects they teach.

The report proposes that although it is not easy to attract high-ability candidates to the teaching service because of little pay opportunities, better selection and retention policies must be adopted.

And part of this, the report says, is dropping non-competent teachers.

“Introduce a teaching apprenticeship of three to five years, allowing systems to identify effective teachers. The least effective teachers could then be transitioned out of the teaching force,” reads the report.

Meritocratic hiring

Part of the proposed strategies of cleaning up the teaching service, the report says, would include a more meritocratic hiring—based on a test instead of patronage—to improve student learning.

“Teachers need to be treated as professionals—and good professionals receive support and respect, but are also held to high expectations,” says the report.

Back home, President Uhuru Kenyatta has instructed the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to rein in absentee teachers.

The President said there will be no place for non-committed teachers on the TSC payroll. There are some 310,000 teachers on the payroll.

Even though the TSC is implementing a tough performance contracting and appraisal plan, no data has been produced reflecting those dropped for poor performance.

The report cites teacher absenteeism, unsupervised refresher trainings and lack of motivation, as points that lower teaching standards across many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Even when they are in school, teachers are often not in class teaching. Yet education systems in many countries neither reward teachers for performing well nor penalise them for performing poorly,” reads the report.

These statements pitch a serious proposal for getting rid of joyriders and incompetent teachers to streamline education quality.

The 2018 report further faults teacher training programmes and paints a grim picture of the candidates admitted to the teaching service.

“Less than 25 percent of Sub-Saharan Africans currently complete secondary education. Thus there are simply not enough qualified candidates to meet the growing demand for teachers,” reads the report.

Lower entry requirements

It finds that in some countries, teacher-training colleges have had to lower their entry requirements to ensure adequate supply of teachers.

“These colleges also push trainees through the programmes in two years or less to try to fill the need for primary school teachers.”

The report says teachers may not always have the necessary pedagogical skills.

Classroom observations in six countries in Sub-Saharan Africa – Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda – found that few public primary school teachers are able to assess children’s abilities and evaluate students’ progress.

Also, only a few teachers in these sample countries engage in the practices typically associated with good teaching.

In Kenya, for instance, 82 per cent of teachers scored 80 per cent on a grade-four mathematics test.

In Mozambique, 26 per cent scored 80 per cent while in Nigeria only 31 per cent of the teachers managed the score.

In Tanzania, 62 per cent of the teachers managed 80 per cent in grade four mathematics, while 24 per cent of Togo and 55 per cent of Uganda teachers scored the top mark grade.

Overall, in several Sub-Saharan African countries, the average teacher does not perform much better on reading tests than the highest-performing grade six students.

“Across the six countries in the region, 40 per cent of primary school teachers are not as knowledgeable as their students should be,” the report says.

But that is not all. The report casts serious doubts whether the in-service refresher courses taken by teachers are helpful.

The report says a survey of 38 developed and developing countries found that 91 per cent of teachers had participated in professional development in the previous 12 months.

But it notes that many of the professional development trainings go unevaluated and cautions that much of it may be ineffective.

“Teacher training in low- and middle-income countries is often short and of low quality. Countries often have many training programmes under way at the same time—in some cases dozens—with little to show for them.”

To bridge the gap, developing countries have been advised to make follow-up visits, where trainers observe and support teachers in the classroom.

In Africa, a range of programmes with long-term teacher mentoring and coaching has shown sizeable learning effects.

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