The cost of teachers

Teacher pay is another key issue for improving the quality of primary schooling. Salaries are the major share of education budgets—50-60 per cent for education as a whole and even more at the primary level. 

Nonetheless, teachers are widely underpaid and in many countries make poverty-level wages. In Uganda, for example, teachers’ salaries are below the poverty line and lower than the pay of other skilled professionals. As a result, headmasters often provide supplements with funds collected by Parent-Teacher Associations, which means that teacher incomes depend on the ability of parents to bear extra costs. Thus, wages vary widely from region to region. 

After major declines in pay in Africa and Latin America during the 1980s, there is growing recognition that low salaries have hindered attempts to attract and retain qualified professionals. Incentives can help make up the difference. In Indonesia, for example, teachers in rural or other ‘less desirable’ areas receive a 50 per cent salary bonus. Many African countries require villages to house rural teachers. In Tanzania, the lack of accommodation for teachers in rural areas became so severe that in 1991 a presidential fund was established to help resolve the shortage. 

Another way to control expenditures while improving quality is to use lower cost teaching assistants recruited from the local community. Assistants spare teachers from routine tasks and allow them to spend more time working with students. And, through ongoing training, paraprofessionals can gradually work their way into the professional ranks. 
 

Despite the obstacles of mountainous terrain and isolated villages, Bhutan is making efforts to expand education access. Three boys share a book in the yard of a school.

These are all innovative strategies to squeeze every last bit from the funds available, an activity that becomes even more important when demand for schools is expanding. But efforts to stretch budgets must not be allowed to undermine the quality of education. While Myanmar has undergone rapid expansion of primary schooling, in 1993-1994 two thirds of its teachers had no training and only 4 per cent had access to in-service training. 

Tanzania illustrates what can happen if funds are cut when spending is already at a minimum. In response to repeated calls by international donors to reduce per-pupil expenditures, the country cut education expenditures dramatically. A 1990 survey found that half of all primary school teachers were depending on other sources of income and a quarter of secondary school teachers were holding down additional jobs, sometimes cutting class hours short to do so. Dilapidated schools lacked chairs and were jammed with an average of 60 students in every classroom. Books and materials were almost non-existent. 

The dearth of supplies is a serious impediment almost everywhere in the developing world. A 1995 study in 14 of the world’s least developed countries found that in 9, fewer than half the classrooms had a usable chalkboard. Children need to read daily to solidify their skills, but in 13 of the 14 countries, at least 70 per cent of pupils had no books at home. In most African countries, pupils must provide their own notebooks, pens and slates. Since books are often imported and therefore very expensive, few children have any books at all. In 1990 in Tanzania, an average of 12 students were sharing each book. 

In these situations, parents and communities are asked to fill the gap. In Viet Nam, communities have been reasonably successful at providing school buildings at low cost through voluntary labour and contributions. In Uganda, construction of primary schools has been left entirely to parents and communities, resulting in great discrepancies from one community to another. Fewer than half the country’s classrooms are permanent structures, and in some regions, almost half the classes are held outdoors for lack of classrooms. Currently, 1 million children (one third of those aged 6-10) are not enrolled in primary school. 

When communities and parents are simply asked to pay the bill, they may view education as a burden. But if they are given a meaningful role, they usually contribute willingly. In Guinea, for example, parents take part in resolving issues such as quality of teaching. Committees of parents and community members have also been formed in Zimbabwe to encourage participation in planning and managing education. 
 

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