Teachers and Teaching in Sierra Leone Teacher Quality and Management Study The World Bank 2021 1 © 2021 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/THE WORLD BANK 1818 H Street NW Washington, DC 20433 USA All rights reserved Photos: Unicef and The World Bank. 2 Teachers and Teaching in Sierra Leone Teacher Quality and Management Study The World Bank 2021 3 Contents Contents 4 Acronyms and Abbreviations 5 Acknowledgments 9 Foreword 10 Executive Summary 12 1. Introduction: The Importance of Teaching Quality as a Determinant for Learning 16 2. Background: The Education System in Sierra Leone 19 3. Analysis of the Teaching Career Path 25 3.1. Stage 1: Before Teaching 26 Decision to Pursue a Teaching Career 26 Pre-Service Training 30 Entry into the Teaching Service 33 3.2. Stage 2: Experience While Teaching 40 Teacher Deployment 41 Initial Training 46 In-Service Training 47 4. Teaching Practices 50 5. Planning for Teacher Needs 54 6. Key Recommendations 64 6.1 Teaching Career 64 6.2 Teaching Practices 72 6.3 Size of the Education System 72 Annex I: Simple Protocol for Teacher Deployment 74 Phase 1: Define the number of teachers allocated per education level 74 Phase 2: Define the number of teachers allocated to each school 72 Annex II: Continuous Professional Development (CPD) 82 Bibliography 84 4 AAA Acronyms and Abbreviations ASC Annual School Census BECE Basic Education Certificate Examination CPD Continuous professional development DFID United Kingdom’s Department for International Development EVD Ebola Virus Disease FQSE Free Quality School Education GDP Gross domestic product JSS Junior secondary school MBSSE Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education NDP National Development Plan PQTR Pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio PTR Pupil-to-teacher ratio RBF Results-based financing REDiSL Revitalization Education Development in Sierra Leone SSA Sub-Saharan Africa SSS Senior secondary school TC Teaching certificate TSC Teaching Service Commission TTC Teacher training college WASSCE West African Senior School Certificate Examination 5 Figures Figure 1 Structure of the Education System in Sierra Leone Figure 2 Stages of the Teaching Career – Before Teaching Figure 3 Teacher Salaries in Primary and Secondary Education Figure 4 Distribution of Teachers by Age Figure 5 Years of Service in Teaching Figure 6 Distribution of Teachers Aged 34 Years and Younger Figure 7 Proportion of Teachers by Salary Source Figure 8 Distribution of Teachers by Gender and Education Level Figure 9 Stages of the Teaching Career – While Teaching Figure 10 Distribution of Teachers and Students in Approved Primary Schools Figure 11 Distribution of Teachers and Students in Approved Primary Schools Figure 12 Stages of the Teaching Career - Initial Training Figure 13 The Share of Teachers Observed by Principals by Region, 2019 Figure 14 Average Teacher Attendance Figure 15 Share of Teachers who Teach Figure 16 Share of Students Assessed Regularly Figure 17 Retention Profile in Basic and Senior Secondary Schools by Gender Figure 18 Key Recommendations throughout the Teacher Career Cycle Figure 19 Proposed Community of Practice model Proposed Community of Practice model 6 Tables Table 1 Institutions, Enrollment, and Teachers by Education Level Table 2 Distribution of Schools by Ownership and Educational Level Table 3 Distribution of Schools by Status and Educational Level Table 4 School Enrollment by Education Level, 2003-2017 Table 5 Salary Scale for Teachers in Sierra Leone Table 6 Distribution of Students along TC and HTC Programs, 2005-16 Table 7 Official Minimum Qualifications for Civil Service Teaching Posts in Selected SSA Countries, Early 2010s Table 8 Qualification Requirements for Government-Paid Teachers Table 9 Professional Training of Teachers by Education Level and Age Table 10 Teachers and PTRs by School and Approval Status Table 11 Number of Teachers and PQTRs by Education Level and Approval Status Table 12 Pupil-to-Teacher Ratios in Primary Schools by District Table 13 Availability of Staffrooms in Schools Table 14 Desk-to-Student Ratio Table 15 Projected Basic and Senior Secondary School Age Population Table 16 Projected Progression Parameters for Basic and Senior Secondary Education Table 17 Projected Learners in Basic and Senior Secondary Education Table 18 Proportion of Enrolment in Public and Government-Approved Schools Table 19 Projected Learners in Approved Basic and Senior Secondary Schools Table 20 Projected Teacher Requirement in Approved Basic and Senior Secondary Schools Table 21 Distribution of student population across education levels Table 22 Resulting allocations in pre-primary, allocation based on national PTR Table 23 Resulting allocations in primary, allocation based on national PTR Table 24 Resulting allocations in junior secondary, allocation based on national PTR Table 25 Resulting allocations in senior secondary, allocation based on national PTR 7 Boxes Box 1 Quality of Education in Sierra Leone Box 2 The Transition Challenge Box 3 Who are the teachers in Sierra Leone? Box 4 The Gender Dimension of Teaching in Sierra Leone Box 5 Teacher Approval and Deployment Process Box 6 Working Conditions: Staffrooms Box 7 Basic Inputs: Students Desks Box 8 The Importance of Setting Clear Expectations Box 9 Coherence in the Education System Images Cover World Bank Stock Photo p36 World Bank Stock Photo p11 World Bank Stock Photo p42 World Bank Stock Photo p12 World Bank Stock Photo p53 Unicef Stock Photo p15 World Bank Stock Photo p54 World Bank Stock Photo p16 World Bank Stock Photo p56 Unicef Stock Photo p21 World Bank Stock Photo p61 Unicef Stock Photo p24 Unicef Stock Photo p64 World Bank Stock Photo p26 World Bank Stock Photo p70 World Bank Stock Photo p29 World Bank Stock Photo p71 Unicef Stock Photo p32 Unicef Stock Photo p83 Unicef Stock Photo p35 Unicef Stock Photo p87 World Bank Stock Photo End World Bank Stock Photo Cover 8 Acknowledg- ments The report was prepared by a team from the World Secondary Education in the preparation of the Bank, including Marcela Gutierrez Bernal (Education study, particularly Staneala Beckley (Chair, Sierra Specialist and lead author), Polycarp Otieno Leone Teaching Service Commission), Sorie (Education Economist Consultant and lead author), Turay (Secretary, Sierra Leone Teaching Service Thanh Thi Mai (Senior Education Specialist and Commission), Petula Sylvie Rische (Director, Task Team Leader), Mari Shojo (Senior Education Teacher Development and Performance, Sierra Specialist), Himdat Bayusuf (Education Specialist), Leone Teacher Service Commission), and Marian Laura McDonald (Operations Officer), and Virginia Abu (Director, Teacher Management, Sierra Leone Jackson (Consultant). The team is grateful for the Teacher Service Commission). We would also like to management, guidance, and support provided by thank the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Jaime Saavedra (Education Global Director), Halil Education for granting us access to the 2018 Annual Dundar (Practice Manager), Gayle Martin (Country School Census, which was conducted in conjunction Manager for Sierra Leone), and Sheikh Alhaji Yayah with Statistics Sierra Leone. Sesay (Operations Officer). The team also wishes to thank all who contributed The production of this report was made possible to the realization of this report, including Elif through consultations with key stakeholders Yonca Yukseker, Janet Omobolanle Adebo, Warrah and partners in the education sector. The team Mansaray, and Mariatu Margaret Sankoh. The report acknowledges with sincere gratitude the support was edited by Oscar Parlback (Consultant) and and contributions of the Teaching Service designed by Lulú Angulo (Consultant). Commission and the Ministry of Basic and Senior 9 Foreword By making basic education free, Sierra Leone has taken important steps to improve the education >> (...) half of the time spent in of its citizens and lay the foundation for the future development of the country. The government’s school is wasted. (...) expanding efforts have resulted in important improvements access to education is insufficient; in terms of access to education. Despite progress, the quality of education must however, many children who go to school do not be improved. acquire even the most fundamental skills to be productive and engaged members of society. While a child who starts school at age 4 in Sierra Leone can a teaching career; (ii) pre-service training; (iii) the expect to complete 9.6 years of school by their 18th entry into the teaching service; (iv) deployment; birthday, these years only translate into 4.9 years of (v) initial training; and (vi) continuous professional learning, which means that half of the time spent in development. It provides an overview of each stage school is wasted. In this context, expanding access and makes recommendations based on global to education is insufficient; the quality of education evidence. The results reveal multiple opportunities must be improved to ensure that years in school for improvement, and many measures could be translate into rising productivity and household implemented in the short term, including working with income (HCI 2020). the six institutions that provide pre-service training to institute minimum standards; improving the entry This study aims to provide guidance to the and exit exams of pre-service institutions; avoiding Government of Sierra Leone in how to translate hiring unqualified teachers; and institutionalizing investments in education into quality learning. the teacher deployment protocol. It centers on teachers—the single most important predictor of the quality of an education system. An estimated 29,500 new teachers would be Joyful, rigorous, and focused learning happens when required to implement the Free Quality School teachers have the necessary inputs and capacity to Education program in the next five years, but the do their job. Decades of research provide important government only plans to hire 25,000 new teachers insights into what successful education systems both due to fiscal limitations. To address this shortage of do for and ask of teachers. For example, traditional teachers, the study proposes several solutions such teacher training, which consists of overly theoretical as changing the standard for the pupil-to-teacher and one-size-fits-all education, needs to be replaced ratio; relying on assistant teachers (e.g., experienced with continuous, personalized, and practical training. but unqualified teachers hired as contract teachers While moving away from traditional practices is and students undergoing pre-service teacher not easy, it is possible and necessary to improve training) until there are enough trained teachers; learning. This study looks at the different stages of and ensuring that newly approved schools meet the teaching profession: (i) the decision to pursue minimum standards. 10 The purpose of the study is to help shape the career tools and inputs (e.g., chalk, books, guidance notes, of Sierra Leonean teachers and create a better etc.). A lot is at stake in Sierra Leone, and the country learning environment in the classroom. Like other needs qualified teachers to ensure the success of the professionals, teachers need to be motivated, well future workforce and increase economic productivity trained, supported, and have access to the necessary and growth. 11 Executive Summary The Government of Sierra Leone has made This study analyzes the scope and content of the education a national priority. Recognizing the teaching profession in Sierra Leone, describing its right to education, it launched the Free Quality main challenges and providing recommendations to School Education (FQSE) program in September better align teacher training with education needs. In 2018. Through the FQSE program, the government line with the FQSE program, the analysis focuses on basic commits to provide all children with access to education. It also considers the role of the Teaching free quality basic and secondary education. This Service Commission (TSC) in managing teachers, implies eliminating school fees for government including registration, licensing, and training. The study and government-approved schools, giving starts by providing a background of the education schools a capitation grant based on enrollment, system in Sierra Leone, followed by a detailed analysis paying teachers’ salaries with public resources, of the teaching profession, including: (i) the teacher providing books and other assorted learning application process and pre-service training (before material to schools, and maintaining existing teaching); (ii) teaching service registration, licensing, facilities of approved schools. The program is and hiring (entry into the teaching service); and (iii) also accompanied by a greater decentralization the deployment, initial training, and professional of the management and supervision of education development of teachers (while teaching). Given the services. Finally, the Ministry of Finance is expected expansion of the education system with the committed to allocating a minimum of 20 percent implementation of the FQSE program, the analysis also of the recurrent state budget to the education includes a projection of the number of teachers that sector (NDP 2019, pg. 44). will need to be hired in the near future. 12 Before Teaching that they can mentor girls to stay in school. While there is gender parity in school enrollment, more To improve the quality of the education system, than 70 percent of all teachers are male. A more Sierra Leone needs to improve the pool of graduates equal representation of women in the teaching interested in pursuing a career in teaching. To this end, profession could provide young female students with communication campaigns undertaken for the FQSE role models and an incentive to stay in school. program should clarify that the teaching profession is as a complex and intellectually demanding career that has an immense social value. They should also Entry into the Teaching Service highlight the benefits enjoyed by government-paid teachers such as higher salaries and fewer work hours The TSC should reduce the share of unqualified relative to comparable professions. The government teachers in the education system. The TSC should should consider giving the best graduates of senior encourage nonapproved service providers to refrain secondary schools scholarships to study to become from recruiting unqualified teachers. Moreover, in teachers, thereby signaling the importance of the government or government-approved schools, the career for the future of the country. Given that less TSC should continue enforcing their recent policy than half of all teachers are hired by the government, of not hiring any teacher who does not meet the private, community, and mission schools should minimum standards. The registration and licensing be incentivized to improve the prestige of the process should be made mandatory for new and teaching career by rewarding qualified teachers with existing teachers. The TSC should also establish a acceptable salaries. grace period in which existing teachers are expected to present their certification documents to continue Sierra Leone needs to improve the quality of teachers teaching. This process should be followed rigorously entering the education system, especially since pre- to ensure the payroll is correct (i.e., that only teachers service training often receives inadequate attention that are practicing in the school assigned by the in education reforms in African countries. First, TSC are being paid) and improve the quality of the teacher training colleges (TTCs) should make entry education system. into pre-service training selective and guarantee the quality of graduates upon exit. Additionally, The probationary period of all new government- the curriculum should be strengthened to ensure employed teachers constitutes an important minimum standards and aligned with the reality of opportunity for the TSC to dismiss unqualified the country’s classrooms. Given the importance of a teachers. Few countries have the political space and strong practical component, the authorities should the operational mechanisms to dismiss government- strengthen and expand the Mentoring Pre-service paid teachers who are underperforming in the Teacher Training Program, which is being piloted in beginning of their careers. The TSC should assess Bo, Kenema, Port Loko, and Makeni. Eventually, the teachers during the probationary period and dismiss TSC needs to coordinate its work with TTCs so that those who do not meet the minimum standards. the supply of teachers matches the demand from schools, both in terms of the number of teachers and area of specialty. TTCs should also be incentivized to While Teaching learn from the performance of their graduates. There should be a systematic deployment of teachers, The government should make a special effort to ensuring that newly recruited teachers are allocated attract, recruit, and retain more female teachers so to schools with the greatest needs (e.g., higher 13 pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio and lower levels of internalize the responsibility of running a classroom. learning). The recent deployment protocol adopted Inside the classroom, a teacher-centered pedagogy by the TSC represents an important step, and it should that is heavy on lecturing, with low student be strictly followed in regional and local offices, participation and high repetition, is widespread. especially since decentralization has led to irregular Instead, teachers need to shift to a student-centered implementation of deployment protocols in other pedagogy, where students participate and are active. African countries, reducing their impact. Given the This can be facilitated through highly scripted lesson difficult conditions and scarcity of teachers in some plans, which teachers do not seem to currently rural areas of Sierra Leone, the government should use. Making sure that teachers access—and more also consider offering teachers rural or hardship importantly use—detailed lessons plans could be an allowances to incentivize them to move to and serve important next step to improve teaching practices. In- in disadvantaged areas. Furthermore, the deployment classroom assessments and homework assignments protocol should be adapted to the standards that are appear to be important strengths of current teachers, being developed by the Standards Committee. and they should be incorporated into the design of lesson plans. Incidents of harsh discipline and Teacher training in Sierra Leone needs to be physical punishment have been reported and should significantly strengthened. Existing evidence shows not be accepted. Schools should be safe and inclusive, that many of the country’s teachers lack the necessary and the TSC and the international community need pedagogical skills and knowledge to be effective, to make this a priority. which needs to be addressed to improve the quality of the education system. While the TSC has a modern vision of continuous professional development that >> While the TSC has a modern broadly aligns with international best practices, it needs to be translated into a national program. vision of continuous professional Additionally, the role of the head teacher needs to be development that broadly aligns redefined, and the European Union has supported the with international best practices, government with the training of principals, setting up it needs to be translated into a the basis for the reform. Through the FREE Education national program. Project, the World Bank and other international partners are working with the government on a technology-enabled initiative to improve the quality The Sierra Leonean education system has plenty of of teacher training in Sierra Leone. teachers, with a pupil-to-teacher ratio (PTR) ranging from 12 in pre-primary to 27 in primary education. Since learning happens inside the classroom, the Yet, more than one-third of the country’s teachers authorities need to evaluate and, if necessary, are unqualified, lowering the quality of teaching. It is improve teaching practices. Regrettably, there are estimated that the full implementation of the FQSE no large-scale classroom observation studies in program would require hiring more than 29,400 new Sierra Leone. Therefore, this study uses available qualified teachers in the next five years, far more information from small-scale studies to discern than the 25,000 new teachers the government plans common patterns. It finds a high rate of teacher to hire. To fill this gap, the government could decide absenteeism in the country. Initiatives such as the to add more teaches to the payroll, which would performance-based financing model implemented by require roughly more than US$42 million per year. the World Bank-financed REDiSL project are promising, Alternatively, the authorities could change the PTR although further work is needed to ensure teachers to a higher but still acceptable level. Currently, the 14 country is considering a PTR of 1:25 in pre-primary The TSC has a critical role in ensuring coherence and education and 1:40 in all the remaining education quality in the education system. Since many schools levels. For example, the government could work are not run by the government in Sierra Leone, the with TTCs to increase the PTR by having teachers in creation of standards, guidelines, and protocols is training serve as class assistants (as is done in the critical to ensure consistency and teaching quality United Kingdom). Finally, the government could start across schools. In addition, the TSC needs to develop requiring newly approved schools to meet all the a strong supervision mechanism to guarantee that minimum standards, which would in effect limit the standards, guidelines, and protocols are followed approval of new schools. and that a certain level of quality is met. 15 1 Introduction: The Importance of Teaching Quality as a Determinant for Learning Teachers are some of the most valuable resources in and computer-assisted learning program had less any education system. Teachers are the adults with than one-twentieth of the effect. For Sub-Saharan whom many students interact with the most,1 and they Africa (SSA), Bashir et al. (2017) document “the most have an extremely difficult task. In addition to imparting consistent sources of impact on student learning: basic cognitive skills, such as numeracy and literacy, teacher knowledge, teaching practice and instructional they need to teach students socioemotional skills, time.” They recognize that “where education systems such as teamwork, communication, and persistence, are often poorly resourced, additional factors that and encourage a passion for lifelong learning. matter… include the availability of textbooks and pedagogical resources, better school and classroom The quality of teachers is an important determinant facilities, and smaller classes.”4 of educational outcomes. In the United States, students with an effective teacher advance 1.5 grade The Government of Sierra Leone has made education levels or more over a single school year, compared a national priority. The National Development Plan with just 0.5 grade levels for those with an ineffective (NDP) clearly states that “human capital development, teacher.2 Similar findings of the importance of quality especially the provision of free quality education for teachers have been found in Ecuador, Uganda, all, constitutes the main goal of our government” Pakistan, and India.3 Moreover, some of the most (pg. iv). The Free Quality School Education (FQSE) effective interventions to improve student learning program, introduced in September 2018, is the rely on the effectiveness of teachers. Beteille and government’s flagship initiative to accelerate human Evans (2019) compare the effects of three types of capital development. Through the FQSE program, the programs on student learning in low- and middle- government has recognized the right to education income countries: teacher-driven interventions (e.g., and is committed to provide all children with access structured pedagogy), community-based monitoring, to free quality basic (i.e., preschool and primary and and computer-assisted learning programs. They junior secondary) and senior secondary education. find that while teacher-driven interventions raised This implies eliminating school fees for government students’ language scores by about nine months, and government-approved schools, giving schools community-based monitoring had half the effect a capitation grant based on enrollment, paying 1. Beteille and Evans 2019. 2. World Development Report 2018. 3. Blau and Das 2018. 4. Bashir et al 2017, pg 231. 16 teachers’ salaries with public resources, providing hiring of school supervisors at the regional level. books and other assorted learning materials, and Moreover, the Ministry of Finance is committed to maintaining existing facilities of approved schools. allocate 20 percent of the minimum recurrent state The program also includes a greater decentralization budget to the education sector (NDP 2019, pg. 22). of the management and supervision of education services, as evidenced by the creation of ward Recognizing the importance of effective teachers, education committees, the creation of district the government formally inaugurated the TSC in Teaching Service Commission (TSC) offices, and the August 2016.5 The TSC seeks “to manage the affairs hiring of school supervisors at the regional level. of teachers to improve their professional status Moreover, the Ministry of Finance is committed to and economic wellbeing and for other related allocate 20 percent of the minimum recurrent state matters” (Teacher Service Commission Act 2011). As budget to the education sector (NDP 2019, pg. 22). an independent commission, the TSC: (i) advises the Minister of Education on all matters pertaining The Government of Sierra Leone has made education to teachers, including pre-service training, and a national priority. The National Development Plan sanctions schools that are in violation of standards (NDP) clearly states that “human capital development, for professional practice; (ii) registers and licenses especially the provision of free quality education for all teachers; (iii) evaluates all teachers’ qualifications all, constitutes the main goal of our government” and determines their equivalence based on a (pg. iv). The Free Quality School Education (FQSE) qualifications framework; (iv) measures teacher program, introduced in September 2018, is the performance; (v) recruits, promotes, posts, transfers, government’s flagship initiative to accelerate human dismisses, and replaces teachers in government and capital development. Through the FQSE program, the government-approved schools; (vi) develops and government has recognized the right to education reviews standards and codes of professional ethics and is committed to provide all children with access for teachers; (vii) defines the rights and obligations to free quality basic (i.e., preschool and primary and of teachers in relation to their employers and the junior secondary) and senior secondary education. management of the institutions where they serve, This implies eliminating school fees for government as well as of school management in relation to their and government-approved schools, giving schools employees; (viii) disciplines teachers in government a capitation grant based on enrollment, paying and government-approved schools in accordance with teachers’ salaries with public resources, providing the provisions of the Code of Ethics for Teachers; (ix) books and other assorted learning materials, and organizes regular induction and orientation programs maintaining existing facilities of approved schools. for newly licensed teachers as well as continuous The program also includes a greater decentralization professional development (CPD) programs for serving of the management and supervision of education teachers; and (x) appraises the performance of head services, as evidenced by the creation of ward teachers and principals in accordance with the legal education committees, the creation of district provisions of the 2004 Education Act. Teaching Service Commission (TSC) offices, and the 1. Beteille and Evans 2019. 2. World Development Report 2018. 3. Blau and Das 2018. 4. Bashir et al 2017, pg 231. 5. The TSC had been in the making for several years. As documented by Wright (2009), the National Education Policy of 1995 recommended the establish- ment of a TSC. Once the TSC has been established, teacher management responsibilities should be transferred from the MBSSE to the TSC, according to the Education Act of 2004. The National Education Policy of 2010 assigned clear roles to the TSC, and the Teaching Service Comission Act of 2011 relieved the MBSSE from direct involvement of the implementation of teacher management policies. In 2013, an operational framework for the TSC was developed, and the presidential appointment of a TSC chair was approved by the parliament in 2015. MBSSE from direct involvement of the implementation of teacher management policies. In 2013, an operational framework for the TSC was developed, and the presidential appointment of a TSC chair was approved by the parliament in 2015. 17 Considering the key role of teachers in translating teaching career, including the application to become the FQSE program into quality learning, this study a teacher and pre-service training; the registration, analyzes the teaching profession and highlights key licensing and hiring of teachers; and the deployment, opportunities for the TSC to improve the education initial training, and professional development system. In line with the FQSE program, the study of teachers. Section 4 estimates the number of focuses on the basic education cycle (primary and government-paid teachers that will be needed to junior secondary education). Section 2 provides a meet the goals set out in the FQSE program. Finally, background of the education system in Sierra Leone, section 5 presents key recommendations. and section 3 presents a detailed analysis of the 18 2 Background: The Education System in Sierra Leone Sierra Leone’s education system is organized into a tier consists of four years of tertiary education (Figure three-tier structure. The first tier consists of twelve 1).6 Basic education is also comprised of pre-school years of basic education, the third consists of three as well as primary and junior secondary cycles. years of senior secondary education, and the third Figure 1 Structure of the Education System in Sierra Leone Class/Grade N1 N2 N3 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 JSS1 JSS2 JSS3 SSS1 SSS2 SSS3 Education Junior Secondary Senior Secondary Tertiary Pre-School Primary Education Level Education Education Education Theoretical 3 6 11 12 14 15 17 18 Entry Age Duration 3 Years 6 Years 3 Years 3 Years 4 Years Basic education In the basic and senior secondary cycle, Sierra Leone is more than double that of enrolled pre-primary has close to 2 million students, 11,000 schools, and students, there are almost three times as many pre- more than 87,000 teachers. (2018 Annual School primary schools and more teachers per primary Census, ASC). About 65 percent of the country’s schools, student, as pre-primary schools need to have low 69 percent of the students, and 57 percent of the pupil-to-teacher ratios (PTRs) and be located close teachers are in primary education (Table 1). In junior to households. In Sierra Leone, there is gender secondary education, there are more than 300,000 parity—measured by absolute enrollment—across students (16 percent of total), 20,000 teachers (23 all levels of education, except in senior secondary, percent), and over 1,000 schools (14 percent). While where there are nine female students for every ten the number of enrolled senior secondary students male students in school. 6. Since the 2010/11 academic year, senior secondary education consisted of four years. The current administration changed this policy, so senior second- ary now consists of three years (as was the norm from 1993 to 2010/11). 19 Table 1 Institutions, Enrollment, and Teachers by Education Level Number of Number of Student Number of Number of Number of learners learners Female to institutions students teachers (Male) (Female) Male ratio Pre-Primary 1,633 42,922 47,779 90,701 1.1 7,279 Primary 7,002 674,034 695,704 1,369,738 1.0 49,850 Junior 1,531 158,651 156,849 315,500 1.0 20,329 Secondary Senior 581 108,144 98,392 206,536 0.9 10,167 Secondary Total 10,747 983,751 998,724 1,982,475 1.0 87,625 Source: ASC 2018. Education in Sierra Leone is delivered by missions, more private providers (private providers represent 35 communities, the private sector, and the government, percent and 29 percent of all schools in pre-primary About 52 percent of all the schools in the country (from and senior secondary education, respectively). There pre-primary to senior secondary) are owned by religious is also a greater share of government-run schools groups; 16 percent are owned by communities; 16 (18 percent) in primary education. The reason for the percent by private entities; and 15 percent of all schools strong presence of religious community schools in the are owned by the government (Table 2) This pattern provision of education in Sierra Leone is partly due holds for all levels of education, with the exception of to eleven years of civil war and the recent Ebola Virus pre-primary and senior secondary, which have relatively Disease (EVD) crisis (Wright 2019). Table 2 Distribution of Schools by Ownership and Educational Level Junior Senior Pre-Primary Primary Grand Total Secondary Secondary No. % No. % No. % No. % Community 282 17% 1,006 14% 368 24% 92 16% 1,748 Government 156 10% 1,277 18% 158 10% 54 9% 1,645 Mission 618 38% 4,056 58% 678 44% 265 46% 5,617 Private 577 35% 663 9% 327 21% 170 29% 1,737 Total 1,633 100% 7,002 100% 1,531 100% 581 100% 10,747 Source: ASC 2018. 20 Despite directly managing only 15 percent of a full set of textbooks, and some have teachers schools, the government provides financial who are not paid by the government. There are support to 45 percent of all schools in the country also approved schools that receive full support but (Table 3). Schools that receive public assistance are transfer registered teachers paid by the government referred to as approved or government-assisted (i.e., approved teachers) to non-approved schools. schools. Approved schools meet a set of minimum This results in higher PTRs in approved schools, requirements defined by the Ministry of Basic which often hire non-certified teachers to fill the and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE). These gap. Furthermore, due to fiscal and operational schools should receive funding for teacher salaries, constraints, there is a backlog of schools that meet capitation grants, and books and other learning the minimum requirements and have applied to materials from the central government. However, become government-approved schools but are many approved schools receive only partial support. waiting for government approval. For example, some of these schools do not receive 21 Table 3 Distribution of Schools by Status and Educational Level Pre-Primary Primary Junior Secondary Senior Secondary Grand Total Approved 498 3,449 689 236 4,872 Not Approved 1,135 3,553 842 345 5,875 Total 1,633 7,002 1,531 581 10,747 % Approved 30% 49% 45% 41% 45% Source: ASC 2018. Box 1 Quality of Education in Sierra Leone The quality of education in Sierra Leone is extremely poor. According to the latest Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA 2014), 87 percent of students in second grade cannot read any part of a short passage. By the end of third grade, more than 50 percent cannot write their own name. The MICS 2017 survey finds similar results with only 12 percent of children in grades 2 and 3 meeting expected levels of numeracy for their grade and only 16 percent of children meeting the expected level of literacy for their grade. Alarmingly, virtually all children (97 percent) of the poorest wealth quintile do not display foundational literacy and numeracy skills. This continues throughout the education system, as reflected in students’ low performance on the West African Senior School Certificate Examination. For instance, only 18 percent of students who took the exam passed it in 2018 (NDP 2019). The country’s education system has expanded quadrupled in pre-primary and senior secondary extremely quickly. Despite internal conflict, economic education and more than doubled in junior secondary crises, and the EVD crisis, the number of students in education in fifteen years. This was accompanied by Sierra Leone’s education system almost doubled in an increase in the number of teachers from 19,317 in 2003-2017 (Table 4). The number students more than 2004/05 to 38,125 in 2010/2011. 22 Table 4 School Enrollment by Education Level, 2003-2017 Pre-Primary Primary Junior Secondary Senior Secondary Grand Total 2003/2004 19,068 1,134,815 133,401 38,324 1,325,608 2004/2005 20,632 1,280,853 155,052 44,924 1,501,461 2010/2011 37,351 1,194,503 244,289 108,243 1,584,386 2011/2012 49,006 1,252,354 275,915 124,885 1,702,160 2012/2013 54,040 1,298,908 276,593 139,647 1,769,188 2015 60,065 1,338,210 286,457 156,520 1,841,252 2016 80,923 1,412,524 316,402 171,424 1,981,273 2017 80,119 1,486,939 312,919 179,221 2,059,198 Source: National Development Plan 2019. basic and secondary education, the FQSE program >> aims to increase the number of government-approved The number students more schools, which will lead to an increase in the number than quadrupled in pre-primary of teachers hired by the state. The FQSE program will and senior secondary education also eliminate schooling fees, which is important in a and more than doubled in context where insufficient funding is the main reason junior secondary education for not sending children, particularly girls, to school in fifteen years. (2014 Labor Force Survey referenced in NDP 2019).7 With fewer than half of basic and senior secondary schools receiving government support, the FQSE program will This trend can be expected to continue and will likely lead to massive demand for government approval likely intensify under the FQSE program. Aligned of schools that currently cover these levels and meet with its objective to guarantee universal access to the eligibility criteria. 7. Historically, primary education has not been completely free in Sierra Leone because schools have informal charged their students for tuition, school uniforms, books, etc. With the FQSE program, these fees will be abolished. 23 Box 2 The Transition Challenge Dropout rates in Sierra Leone are extremely Enter high. Two out of every ten students entering the primary first grade are not likely to make it to the end school of primary school, five are unlikely to reach the end of junior secondary, and more than seven Finish are unlikely to finish senior secondary. In fact, primary three in four students who join junior secondary school or senior secondary are likely to stay to the end. In Sierra Leone, students need to pass high- Finish stakes examinations administered by the West Junior Africa Examination Council (WAEC) to transition Secondary between education levels (except from pre- primary to primary). The biggest challenge for Graduate the education sector is, therefore, to ensure from Senior Secondary that students who access first grade can stay in school up to at least the end of basic education. 24 3 Analysis of the Teaching Career Path This section analyzes two key stages of the It starts by exploring the process of potential teaching career: candidates in deciding to pursue a teaching career and apply for pre-service training (Figure 2). This involves 1 an analysis of career options for potential candidates The experience of prospective as well as the pay and reputation of the teaching teachers before they join the career—factors that may influence the decision to profession (before teaching); pursue teaching. It also includes an evaluation of the availability and quality of pre-service training and a review of the steps and criteria associated with the 2 process of registering, licensing, and hiring teachers. The experience of current The second stage discusses the initiation of trainees teachers (while teaching) into the teaching profession and their CPD, including a review of the inputs that teachers rely on to make their teaching effective in the classroom. Figure 2 Stages of the Teaching Career – Before Teaching Stage 1: Before Teaching Stage 2: While Teaching Decision Continous Entry into to pursue Pre-service Initial the teaching Deployment professional the teaching training training service development carrer 25 3.1 Stage 1: Before Teaching Decision to Pursue a Teaching Career Most countries that score high on international student achievement assessments attract the best graduates into the teaching profession. For example, one-fifth of applicants to a teaching pre-service institution in Finland are admitted. Here, admission to education programs depends not only on high academic achievements but also on the applicant’s interests and passions (Saavedra et al. 2018). The idea that countries with the best student performance have teachers with higher-than-average cognitive skills is consistent with the findings of Hanushek, Piopiunik, and Wiederhold (2014). Efforts to attracted well-qualified teachers are often more successful when the career has a high status. However, the prestige of the teaching career has declined sharply in most countries that have rapidly expanded access to education. This is the case in Sierra Leone, as education was once more valued than inherited political prestige, and teachers were once treated the same way as a secret society and religious/ritual specialists (Bolten 2017). However, teachers’ social standing fell when unprepared teachers were hired as the country attempted to (GDP), as primary school teachers earn 2.4 times the universalize basic education. Similar patterns for the average GDP per capita, and secondary school teachers teaching profession can be seen throughout Latin earn 5.4 times per capita GDP (Figure 3). Teachers America (Vegas et al. 2017). earning above per capita GDP is not uncommon in Africa. In fact, teachers’ salaries in the region range Although salaries are not the sole motivation for from 0.8 times per capita GDP in Gabon (primary people to pursue a specific career, they serve as a school) to almost 20 times per capita GDP in Malawi proxy for the prestige of a profession. In Sierra Leone, (secondary school). It is, however, significantly higher government-hired teachers earn a salary ranging from than what teachers earn in Organisation for Economic US$90 to US$329 per month (Table 5). This is higher Co-operation and Development countries (an average than the country’s per capita gross domestic product of 1.07 times per capita GDP) (Beteille and Evans 2019). 26 Table 5 Salary Scale for Teachers in Sierra Leone Basic Monthly Salary Qualification Grade Recipients Leones US$ Fifth Form/ West African Senior School 2 759,408 90 Untrained and Unqualified Certificate Examination (WASSCE) Awaiting result, Arabic / Certificate; TC 5 908,920 108   (Lower) TC or Diploma or Certificate 6 965,020 115   HTC or HNC or HND or Degree without 7 1,152,537 137 Senior Teacher (Primary) Education Degree with Education or HTC + 8 1,292,046 154 Graduate Degree Head Teacher(P); Sen. Teacher TC + HTC (Primary or Secondary) or (Sec); Junior Secondary School Degree with Education or Degree + 9 1,596,044 190 (JSS)/ Senior Secondary School HTC (SSS)/Tech Voc. HTC (Sec.) + Degree with Education or Vice Principal (JSS/SSS/Tech. 10 1,905,686 227 HTC Secondary + Degree Voc.) HTC Secondary + Degree with 11 2,762,960 329 Principal (JSS/SSS/Tech Voc.) Education or HTC (Secondary) +Degree Source: MBSSE 2019. Note: WASSCE: West African Senior School Certificate Examination; TC: Teacher’s Certificate; HTC: Higher Teacher’s Certificate; and HNC: Higher National Certificate. 27 Figure 3 Teacher Salaries in Primary and Secondary Education (Multiples of per Capita GDP) 20 Multiples of per capita GDP 15 10 5 0 Gabon Congo Sao Tome & Prin. Guinea DRC Congo Guinea - Bissau Sudan Madagascar Cape Verde Sierra Leone Central Africa Gambia Rwanda Cameroun Liberia Comoros Uganda Mauritania Africa Morocco Chad Ivory Coast Mali Burkina Faso Togo Ghana Senegal Benin Djibouti Tanzania Malawi Niger Kenya Burundi Lesotho Secondary Primary Source: IIEP Pole de Dakar 2015. Since being a teacher requires having certain For instance, Bennell and Akyeampong (2007) found minimum qualifications, a teacher’s salary should be that more than half of teachers in Sierra Leone admit compared with that of other educated professionals. that they went to work hungry. TTCs report that few Data from early to mid-2010s show that a teacher’s children want to become teachers because they see hourly salary in Sierra Leone was comparable to their own teachers in poor living conditions. It is, that of other well-educated workers in non-teaching therefore, not a surprise that “anecdotal evidence professions (Bashir et al. 2017) For example, the from knowledgeable individuals claim that teaching country’s primary teachers earn 122 percent of what is treated as a “holding area” for young people whilst clerical workers with a comparable education earn they seek opportunities for further studies or for entry per hour, and secondary teachers earn 98 percent of to more lucrative professions” (Wright 2018, pg. 27). what comparably educated professionals earn. While teachers and schooling are held in high regard in While government-paid teachers earn a relatively Sierra Leone, few students want to become teachers. attractive salary in Sierra Leone, a majority of Teachers and schooling are held in high regard in Sierra teachers in the country do not reach this wage Leone, despite the low teacher salaries. TTCs report that level. Given the diversity of providers, less than half while most students deeply respect their teachers, few of all teachers are employed by the government.8 In of them wish to join the teaching profession because of addition, almost 30 percent of teachers are volunteers, the low salaries. Moreover, the fact that 30 percent of all earning irregular and reportedly low wages, with the teachers are volunteers and that 16 percent of all schools expectation of joining the government’s payroll in are established directly by communities could be an the future. This results in harsh living conditions. indication of the value placed on education in the country. 8. Only 17 percent of teachers are paid by the government in pre-primary; 41 percent in primary, 36 percent in junior secondary, and 40 percent in senior secondary education. 28 Box 3 Who are the teachers in Sierra Leone? Sierra Leone has relatively young and inexperienced teachers. More than half of all teachers are younger than 34 years old, and three out of four are younger than 45 years old. Based on the age profile, most teachers have little teaching experience, with 60 percent of them having been teachers for less than ten years. Figure 4 Distribution or Teachers by Age Figure 5 Years or Service in Teaching 100% 100% 75% 75% 50% 50% 25% 25% 0% 0% Pre- Primary Junior Senior Overall Pre- Primary Junior Senior Primary Secondary Secondary Primary Secondary Secondary <25 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 >40 Source: ASC 2018. 29 Most of the country’s young teachers are not on the government’s payroll. Instead, most of them work in small nonpublic schools. While only one in three teachers in large schools are younger than 34 years old, more than half of teachers in small schools are younger than 34 years old (Figure 7). Young teachers are also concentrated in non-government schools, possibly because teachers in these schools do not need to meet minimum qualifications. Approved teachers are generally older and work across all grades and types of schools, regardless of size and ownership structure. Figure 6 Distribution of Teachers Aged 34 Years and Younger 57% 57% 53% 53% 50% 48% 43% 37% 37% 25% 22% 12% 13% 16% 13% 15% 13% 10% Small Medium Big Government No Pre- Primary Junior Senior Government Primary Secondary Secondary School Size School Ownership School Level Source: ASC 2018. Overall Approved teachers Pre-Service Training and intensity and offer: (i) teaching certificate (TC) and teaching certificate lower (TC lower), which This section explores the process to train prospective last one year; (ii) higher teaching certificate (HTC) teachers in Sierra Leone. It provides an overview of for primary and secondary education, which last the admission criteria to teaching institutions and two years; (iii) bachelor’s degree in education, programs and approximates the quality of training by which takes four years to complete and is only examining exit exams as well as student and teacher offered by two institutions;10 and (iv) graduate outcomes. In Sierra Leone, 36 percent of teachers programs in education. The small number of are unqualified and do not go through the official institutions in charge of training teachers makes pre-service training process. However, this share is it easier to coordinate and supervise education expected to fall over time, as the TSC has stopped hiring institutions from the central level, which could be teachers who do not have minimum qualifications. instrumental in ensuring quality standards. However, the small number of institutions also makes it more Pre-service teacher training is only offered by difficult for prospective students to access training six TTCs.9 The training programs vary in length opportunities. 9. The six institutions are: i) Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone; ii) Njala University; iii) Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science & Technology; iv) Eastern Polytechnic; v) Milton Margai College of Education & Technology; and vi) Freetown Teachers’ College. 10. Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone; and Milton Margai College of Education & Technology. 30 Although each institution operates autonomously, The number of students enrolled in TC Lower, TC, all teacher training programs require candidates and HTC Primary has increased substantially over the to pass all five subjects in the West African Senior last decade. Approximately 64 percent prospective pre- School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). For example, primary and primary teachers enroll in the TC program, applicants to Milton Margai11 who want to pursue 33 percent enroll in HTC Primary, and around 3 percent a bachelor’s degree, diploma, or HTC in teacher enroll in TC Lower. While the share of students pursuing training have to pass the WASSCE in all five subjects the HTC has been close to 30 percent for the last decade, with a grade of C6 or better, as well as demonstrate a the share of students pursuing TC Lower has fluctuated minimum of C6 in English. Similarly, applicants to Njala over time, from none in 2005, 2006, and 2009 to 15-18 University12 also have to have 5 credits from the WASSCE percent in 2008, 2010, and 2011; 13 percent in 2012; to be considered for admission. Moreover, prospective and 2-4 percent in 2013-16. By contrast, even though candidates to both institutions must demonstrate that enrollment in HTC Secondary peaked at 720 students in they obtained their credits from no more than two 2012, the number of enrolled students in 2012 (344) was sittings. Admission to Eastern Polytechnic13 requires basically the same as the number of students in 2005 similar qualifications, and any prospective student who (332) (Table 6). This could be due to to a lack of qualified meets the set academic criteria and is able to cover the secondary education teachers being a binding constraint cost can apply to the pre-service training program. to expanding access to the full education cycle. Table 6 Distribution of Students along TC and HTC Programs, 2005-16 Year TC TC Lower HTC Primary HTC Secondary Total 2005 416 0 226 332 974 2006 481 0 231 N.a. N.a. 2007 641 0 314 N.a. N.a. 2008 502 150 261 493 1,406 2009 460 0 239 N.a. N.a. 2010 452 135 191 N.a. N.a. 2011 591 145 234 N.a. N.a. 2012 615 136 342 720 1813 2013 539 30 320 N.a. N.a. 2014 497 30 307 N.a. N.a. 2015 735 30 433 557 1755 2016 682 30 350 344 1406 Source: Wright, 2019, “A comprehensive Situation Analysis of Teachers and the Teaching Profession in Sierra Leone.” 11. http://mmcet.edu.sl/application-form-1.php 12. http://admissions.njala.edu.sl/ 13. https://easternpolytechnic.edu.sl/faculty-of-education-and-community-development-studies/ 31 Training Content and Teacher have the minimum content knowledge necessary to Knowledge teach reading, more than 10 percent lack the skills required to teach mathematics (Bashir et al. 2017). The objective of pre-service training is to prepare future Moreover, service delivery indicator datasets from teachers with the necessary professional competency a survey of seven African countries14 show that only in terms of content knowledge, pedagogical skills, and 7 percent of language teachers in grade 4 and less teaching practices. Content knowledge refers to the than 70 percent of math teachers in grade 4 possess information that teachers are expected to teach  in a the minimum knowledge required to teach the given subject or thematic area. Pedagogical knowledge curriculum. Specifically, 14 percent of teachers could relates to mastering the most effective ways to teach not spell a simple word, 23 percent could not subtract a particular subject by structuring and representing double digits, and only half could understand and the content in different ways, identifying common solve a simple math story problem15. Similarly, service misconceptions and difficulties, and using adequate delivery indicator surveys in Tanzania, Kenya, and methods to address diverse student challenges. Finally, Mozambique find that less than one-third of teachers teaching practices refer to measures that affect the answer pedagogical questions correctly. classroom such as scheduling and planning lessons, managing the classroom, engaging students, assessing Unfortunately, teachers in Sierra Leone lack the the skills of students, and sequencing the curriculum necessary content knowledge. A primary grade (Bashir et al. 2017). learning assessment administered in grades 4 and 5 and analyzed by Oxford Policy Management finds that Teachers in the region seem to lack content many of the country’s teachers have difficulties in knowledge. SACMEQ III data from Malawi, South Africa, completing a test designed for children in the grades Zambia, and Zanzibar show that while most teachers they teach. Indeed, teachers perform only slightly 14. Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda 15. Bold, T., Filmer, D., Martin, G., Molina, E., Rockmore, C., Stacy, B., ... & Wane, W. (2017). 32 better than their students.16 The performance of Inspectors visit schools to ensure that all teachers prospective teachers on the exams required to comply with this policy. While there could be teachers attain a teacher diploma can be used as a proxy of in far-off places practicing without due registration, their professional competence. Given institutional the provision has largely helped to deter unqualified autonomy, each training institution carries out their individuals from practicing teaching. own exit/graduation examinations without external verification. However, they all require their students Sierra Leone also requires all teachers to be to only score 25 percent on their examinations to registered and licensed, although enforcement is pass, which means that students are only expected lacking. After completing their pre-service training, to know one-fourth of the content on which they are teachers need to register with the TSC and receive tested in order to graduate as teachers. This raises their license. Only registered teachers should be able concerns of whether teachers have the necessary to apply for teaching positions at schools. However, skills in the subjects they are expected to teach. there are many teachers in the country who are There are also anecdotal evidence of rampant not registered and do not have their license, either malpractice during examinations. because the process has not been strictly enforced or they the lack the training and qualifications As expected, a teacher’s knowledge of a subject required for registration. Since the establishment has an important effect on student learning. of the TSC, many graduates are going through the Studies have shown that an increase of 1 standard registration process, but the process (which is being deviation in a teacher’s subject knowledge is done manually from Freetown) is cumbersome. associated with increased student performance of The authorities have no yet decided to suspend 0.03 standard deviations, and that textbooks only unregistered teachers, as it would likely lead to a have a positive impact on students if they are taught massive shortage of teachers in many schools. by higher-scoring teachers (Bietenbeck, Piopiunik, and Wiederhold 2017). Hiring As in most countries’ education systems, not Entry into the Teaching Service all graduates from teacher training institutes in Sierra Leone are added to the government This section describes the processes of registration, payroll. Aside from public schools, graduates are licensing, and hiring teachers in Sierra Leone. also hired by private schools, unapproved mission or community schools, or approved mission or community schools. Only teachers hired by Registration and Licensing of Teachers approved schools or directly by the government are added to the government payroll. Many countries require teachers to be registered and licensed before the start teaching. For example, Many teachers apply to government-paid positions all teachers in Kenya are expected to be registered and take other employment opportunities while immediately after training, regardless whether waiting to be hired. A teaching job paid by the they want to practice in private or public schools. government is highly desirable in Sierra Leone, as the 16. Upcoming publication. 33 government salary is competitive, and the teaching The management of the teacher payroll suffers from profession is relatively stable, especially in a job various reported inefficiencies in Sierra Leone. In- market severely lacking in formal jobs. However, depth interviews with government officials reveal that there are also many qualified professionals that there may be a large number of ghost teachers in the accept teaching positions paid by the government country. Ghost teachers could be certified teachers while they pursue other labor opportunities. that have left their jobs but their pay is still being processed. Instead of informing the MBSSE or the While the government’s hiring procedures ensure TSCE that the teacher has left, the principal and the candidates for teaching positions meet some teacher find someone else to assume the teaching minimum standards, they are not necessarily position and receive the certified teacher’s salary. the best candidates. Teachers are added to This increases the likelihood of having uncertified the government payroll by being hired in either teachers in the classroom who are receiving salaries government schools or approved community as if they were certified. The government has worked or mission schools. For government schools, with United Kingdom’s Department for International prospective teachers who complete their training Development (DFID) in a payroll cleansing exercise early are the first to be considered for employment. to ensure that only registered and licensed teachers For community or mission schools, teachers who are on the payroll and that remunerations are paid are already working at the school are added to the out to legitimate teachers. This exercise is currently government payroll if: (i) they meet the minimum being carried out by deputy directors recruited by the qualifications (Table 7); and (ii) the school’s PTR is TSC and deployed to all districts. The TSC believes its below a certain ratio defined for the district. When decentralized presence will help rebuild integrity in approved by the school, the school sends a list of the teaching profession. their teachers, along with their certifications, to the TSC. If the teachers meet the minimum standards, the Private and non-approved schools recruit and government hires them until the teacher quota for manage teachers based on their own criteria. Given the school is met.17 If teachers in a recently approved that these schools are in charge of more than half school do not meet the minimum qualifications, of the teachers in the country, the lack of a common they should be replaced with qualified teachers. minimum standard makes it more difficult to improve In practice, however, the school rarely replaces the quality of teachers and ensure all children teachers. Instead, it often pays unapproved teachers are taught by qualified professionals (Figure 7). In a lower salary and allows them to continue to private and non-approved schools, teachers are work. Furthermore, when missions or communities hired as soon as there is vacancy, and uncertified manage more than one school, they often deploy teachers are sometimes recruited. Indeed, more their approved teachers from one school to another, than one in every three teachers in the country are resulting in unapproved schools having approved unqualified, and more than half of teachers in non- teachers and in approved schools having unqualified approved schools are uncertified, compared to 28 teachers. The subsequent heterogeneity of teaching percent of teachers in approved schools. Moreover, conditions (e.g., differences in pay, access to teaching it is difficult to certify teachers who are volunteers materials, pedagogical support, etc.) is a source of (often unpaid), which is the case for close to one tension that creates resentment among teachers. in every three teachers hired in private and non- 17. Teacher quotas per school are established to equalize the PTR in and between districts. 34 approved schools. Many volunteer teachers do not level education is required for teaching in upper- receive a stable salary and continue working in the secondary schools. Finally, primary school teachers hope that they will become salaried teachers once in Mali need to have an upper-secondary education the school is approved by the government. and complete three years of teacher training, while secondary school teachers need to have a primary As in most countries in SSA, the official minimum and university-level education. qualifications for teachers in Sierra Leone’s civil service are lower in primary than in secondary education. The country’s primary teachers require a TC, while secondary teachers require an HTC. Figure 7 Proportion of Teachers by Salary Source In Madagascar, a lower-secondary education is required to be a primary school teacher, an upper- 100% secondary education is required to teach lower- secondary students, and a university degree is 75% required to teach in upper-secondary schools. A similar pattern holds for Uganda and the Democratic 50% Republic of the Congo, although these countries also require additional teacher training. Countries 25% like Benin and Niger demand the same level of high- school education (upper secondary) for primary 0% and secondary school teachers as Sierra Leone, Pre- Primary Junior Senior Primary Secondary Secondary but they also require additional teacher training for secondary school teachers. Ghana and Nigeria Govt Households Private Insts. Volunteers require an upper-secondary education and more than three years of teacher training for primary and lower-secondary school teachers, and a university- Source: ASC 2018. 35 Table 7 Official Minimum Qualifications for Civil Service Teaching Posts in Selected SSA Countries, Early 2010s Level of teaching position Preservice education and training required Primary School Lower-secondary school Upper-secondary school Lower-secondary Plus no teacher training Madagascar None None Plus 1-2 years of Mozambique; Uganda None None teacher training Plus ≥ 3 years or teacher Congo, Dem. Rep None None training Upper-secondary Plus no teacher training None Madagascar None Plus 1-2 years of teacher Benin; Burkina Faso; Congo, Dem. Rep None training Kenya; Malawi, Niger Plus ≥ 3 years of teacher Benin; Ghana; Ghana, Mali, Nigeria Benin; Niger training Niger; Nigeria Congo, Dem. Rep; Ghana; Kenya; Madagascar; Mali; University degree South Africa Kenya; Mali; South Africa Nigeria; South Africa; Uganda Sources: Compiled from Kitchlu 2017a, 2017b; Nordstrum 2015; TISSA-Uganda 2014; UNESCO 2011; and World Bank resources. a. Student teachers being prepared as primary school teachers in the Democratic Republic of Congo are tracked after two years of lower-secondary into schooling into a four-year course in the Humanités Pédagogiques stream (Kitchlu 2017a). 36 Table 8 Qualification Requirements for Government-Paid Teachers Level Type of teacher Qualification Teacher TC (Lower); TC or Diploma or Certificate Primary Senior Teacher HTC; HNC; HND; Degree without Education Head Teacher TC + HTC Primary; Degree with Education; Degree + HTC Teacher HTC (Secondary) JSS/ TC + HTC (Primary or Secondary) or Degree with Education or Senior Teacher SSS/ Degree + HTC Technical Vocational Vice Principal HTC (Sec.) + Degree with Education; HTC Secondary + Degree Principal HTC Secondary + Degree with Education; HTC (Secondary) +Degree Source: MBSSE 2019. Note: West African Senior School Certificate Examination; TC: Teacher’s Certificate; HTC: Higher Teacher’s Certificate; HNC: Higher National Certificate. Secondary, more than 15 percent of these teachers have an HTC Primary and a TC. However, 49 percent of >> More than one in every pre-primary school teachers do not have any formal three teachers in Sierra Leone training, and almost four in ten primary teachers are untrained. have not been formally trained. In junior secondary and senior secondary, 30 percent and 26 percent of teachers, respectively, have not received any formal As expected, 38 percent of pre-primary and primary training. Across grades, untrained teachers tend to teachers in Sierra Leone have a TC, almost 40 percent be young (younger than 25 years old), which is an of junior secondary school (JSS) teachers have an indication that the teaching profession is being HTC, and more than 40 percent of senior secondary used to transition to other jobs, the result of the school teachers have a B.Ed. (Table 9). While teachers expansion of the school system in recent years, or a in junior secondary are expected to have an HTC combination of both. 37 Table 9 Professional Training of Teachers by Education Level and Age School Level Age B.Ed (+) HTC(S) HTC(P) TC Untrained <25 0.3% 1.2% 2.2% 17.6% 78.7% 25-34 1.5% 2.5% 5.4% 36.3% 54.2% Pre-Primary 35-44 1.2% 2.7% 10.8% 46.8% 38.5% 45-55 2.7% 3.4% 16.3% 45.4% 32.2% >55 2.9% 4.0% 20.2% 50.7% 22.2% Pre-Primary Average 1.5% 2.6% 8.8% 38.0% 49.2% <25 0.6% 1.1% 1.6% 18.1% 78.6% 25-34 1.2% 3.3% 5.0% 40.7% 49.9% Primary 35-44 1.9% 3.2% 13.2% 54.8% 27.0% 45-55 1.6% 2.6% 18.6% 53.5% 23.7% >55 2.4% 2.7% 22.0% 54.0% 18.8% Primary Average 1.5% 2.8% 11.1% 45.6% 39.1% <25 2.9% 18.1% 1.4% 8.6% 69.0% 25-34 9.9% 42.7% 3.7% 10.0% 33.7% Junior Secondary 35-44 20.5% 44.9% 5.8% 11.2% 17.7% 45-55 28.2% 36.1% 9.5% 11.5% 14.7% >55 39.9% 23.7% 12.5% 11.8% 12.2% Junior Secondary Average 15.6% 38.8% 5.2% 10.4% 30.1% <25 13.6% 19.5% 0.8% 4.5% 61.6% 25-34 32.5% 31.4% 1.3% 2.4% 32.5% Senior Secondary 35-44 52.0% 26.6% 1.5% 2.1% 17.8% 45-55 60.6% 22.6% 2.9% 2.4% 11.5% >55 59.3% 18.4% 5.1% 2.7% 14.4% Senior Secondary Average 41.9% 27.6% 1.8% 2.4% 26.3% Total 9.5% 14.0% 8.4% 31.8% 36.3% Source: ASC 2018. 38 Box 4 Who are the teachers in Sierra Leone? Globally, women tend to dominate the teaching profession, but this is not the case in SSA. For instance, while 64 percent of teachers worldwide were women in 2014, the share of female teachers in SSA was less than 50 percent in primary and less than 30 percent in secondary education (Bashir et al. 2017, pg. 235). The gender composition of teachers is even more extreme in Sierra Leone, with women only representing 29 percent of teachers in the entire basic and senior secondary education cycle. Also, the share of female teachers shrinks as the level of education increases: 85 percent of teachers in pre-primary are women, while women only represent 30 percent, 16 percent, and 9 percent of all teachers in primary, junior secondary, and senior secondary education, respectively (first panel of Figure 11). This pattern holds when considering teachers’ age and responsibilities. For example, the results of the 2018 ASC reveal that the share of female teachers in positions of authority (head teachers, principals, vice principals, etc.) remains regardless of the level of education. Nevertheless, the share female teachers is higher in government than private and community schools (second panel of Figure 11). Figure 8 Distribution of Teachers by Gender and Education Level 100% 100% 15% 70% 84% 91% 71% 91% 85% 75% 75% 50% 50% 30% 32% 25% 25% 21% 16% 9% 10% 85% 30% 16% 9% 29% 0% 0% Pre-Primary Primary Junior Sec Sen Sec Total Pre-Primary Primary Junior Sec Sen Sec Male Female Overail Government Source: ASC 2018. The potential reasons behind the predominant number of male teachers in Sierra Leone are many. According to a TSC report, there was a gender balance in the teacher force before the increase in teacher recruitment in 2004/5 and 2010/11. However, in a climate of high unemployment, teaching became an alternative for male breadwinners in communities, creating the current 39 gender imbalance. TTCs offer an alternative story, arguing that the teaching force has always been dominated by men because of social norms that pressure men to pursue professions with stable salaries at a higher rate than women. The restricted supply of secondary education limits the number of female graduates, reinforcing the gender imbalance. There are only slightly more than 1,500 junior secondary schools to absorb graduates from 7,002 primary schools. Moreover, most secondary institutions are day schools, with considerable distances between them (e.g., some chiefdoms do not have secondary schools). This means that students have to find their own accommodation if they want to attend school. Some report that girls have a harder time finding and maintaining accommodation than boys, as parents do not want to send their daughters far away since they are more vulnerable to abuse and pregnancy. Although not necessarily negative, having a mostly male teacher cadre could be associated with the lower enrollment of girls in secondary schools. The reason for this is could be that there would not be enough role models for girls, and many may feel more at risk when attending an all-male teacher school during their teenage years. Other factors that may contribute to the low enrollment of girls in school are child marriage, teenage pregnancy, and gender-based violence in school. 3.2 Stage 2: Experience While Teaching The career of practicing teachers in Sierra Leone which is later complemented by CPD (Figure 9). consists of three major stages. After finding a job, However, teachers are restricted by the resources teachers are usually first deployed to a specific and opportunities available at their respective school before they receive their initial training, schools. Figure 9 Stages of the Teaching Career – While Teaching Stage 1: Before Teaching Stage 2: While Teaching Decision Continous Entry into to pursue Pre-service Initial the teaching Deployment professional the teaching training training service development carrer 40 Teacher Deployment Effective teaching requires reasonably sized classes. At the national level, Sierra Leone does not have Evidence shows an association between classes that high PTRs. With over 87,000 teachers, the PTR have more than fifty students per teacher and lower ranges from one teacher for every twelve pupils reading scores in several countries in SSA (Bashir et in pre-primary schools to one teacher for every al. 2018). Although class size is not the only condition twenty-seven pupils in primary education (Table to improve learning, classes with more than fifty 10). Regardless of the approval status of schools, students makes it virtually impossible to learn in the average PTR seems acceptable, as the average early grades. To improve learning outcomes, Sierra PTR in OECD countries is 1 teacher for every fifteen Leone must avoid overcrowding schools, which will students, ranging from one teacher for every nine require effective teacher deployment both across students in Greece and Luxembourg to one teacher and within schools. per every 26 students in Mexico. Table 10 Teachers and PTRs by School and Approval Status Approved schools Not Approved Schools Grand Total Teachers Pre-Primary 2,509 4,770 7,279 Primary 30,139 19,711 49,850 Junior Secondary 12,384 7,945 20,329 Senior Secondary 5,928 4,239 10,167 PTR Pre-Primary 13 13 12 Primary 29 25 27 Junior Secondary 18 11 16 Senior Secondary 25 14 20 Source: 2018 ASC. While the pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio (PQTR), also vary between approved and non-approved which only considers qualified18 teachers, is schools: the PQTR is higher in non-approved pre- significantly higher than the PTR, it is still within primary and primary schools and in approved international standards. The PQTR is 25 in pre- secondary schools. By comparison, the PTQR is 65 for primary, 45 in primary, 22 in junior secondary, and 28 Malawi (2019)19, 54 for Tanzania (2009),20 and 121 in in senior secondary education (Table 11). The ratios Mozambique (2004).21 18. Defined as teachers who have a TC, HTC for primary, HTC for secondary, bachelor of education, or postgraduate training in education. 19. https://www.globalpartnership.org/sites/default/files/document/file/2020-04-gpe-country-level-prospective-evaluation-year-2-malawi.pdf 20. https://dakar.iiep.unesco.org/sites/default/files/fields/publication_files/chapter7.pdf 21. https://people.umass.edu/educ870/teacher_education/Documents/Tchrs%20for%20Rural%20Schools%20-%20Africa.%20Mulkeen%20WB.pdf 41 Table 11 Number of Teachers and PQTRs by Education Level and Approval Status Approved schools Not Approved Schools Grand Total Teachers Pre-Primary 1,553 2,147 3,700 Primary 21,076 9,290 30,366 Junior Secondary 9,504 4,715 14,219 Senior Secondary 4,562 2,932 7,494 PQTR Pre-Primary 20 28 25 Primary 41 52 45 Junior Secondary 23 20 22 Senior Secondary 33 19 28 Source: 2018 ASC. 42 However, average national PTRs mask important variations between districts. For example, >> While there are thirty-eight students primary schools in Western Area Urban has an per government-employed teacher in average of twenty students per teacher, while Western Area Urban, there are more Karene has an average of thirty-six students than seventy students per teacher in per teacher in its primary schools (Table 12). Kambia, Kono, and Karene. Differences are greater between districts when only considering government-approved schools, As a result, non-approved schools have smaller class and they are even greater when only considering sizes than approved schools, and there are a significant government-paid teachers in government- number of non-approved teachers working in approved schools. government-approved schools. To improve educational outcomes, the Standards Commission recommends forty students per qualified teacher. Table 12 Pupil-to-Teacher Ratios in Primary Schools by District Average In government approved schools Upper-secondary school Bombali 25 27 44 Western Area Rural 22 24 46 Tonkolili 27 29 50 National 27 29 52 Bo 28 30 53 Koinadugu 30 30 54 Kenema 28 28 55 Bonthe 29 31 55 Moyamba 31 31 55 Falaba 27 27 59 Pujehun 32 34 60 Port Loko 32 34 61 Kailahun 29 30 62 Kambia 34 35 72 Kono 32 35 74 Karene 36 38 78 Source: 2018 ASC. 43 The average PTRs also mask variations within allocated according to enrollment. An analysis of education levels. For instance, if we organize all teacher allocations in twenty-five SSA countries schools that have a solid classrooms22 by deciles between 2000 and 2008 reveals that, on average, according to the number of students per classroom, 28 percent of the variation in teacher allocation we find that while schools in the first decile in pre- in the region cannot be attributed to variation in primary have 7 learners per classroom, schools in the enrollment.24 In Sierra Leone, 63 percent of the highest decile have 56 learners. The disparity is higher variation in the allocation of teachers cannot be in primary but highest in senior secondary where explained by variation in enrollment,25 higher than in teachers in schools in the first decile attend to an any other country in SSA, with the exception of Benin average of nine students in a class while teachers in and Zambia (average of about 85 percent). For example, schools in the highest decile must bear 88 students. small primary schools can have the same number Even though evidence shows that small class sizes of teachers as large schools, and vice versa (Figure are vital for small children to learn, 60 percent of 10). Having a large share of the variation in teacher pre-primary schools have class sizes greater than 20 allocation not related to the variation in enrollment is students.23 In primary education, 60 percent of schools an indication of an inefficient allocation of resources, have class sizes larger the nationally prescribed 40 as teachers are not being distributed to schools most students. in need. This suboptimal utilization of teachers can affect the quality of education and result in a waste While the PTR and PQTR are relatively low in Sierra of resources (e.g., the workload for teachers in schools Leone, many of the country’s teachers are not with the lowest PQTR will likely be low) (Box 5). Figure 10 Distribution of Teachers and Students in Approved Primary Schools 70 53 Teachers 35 18 0 0 400 800 1200 1600 Enrolment Source: ASC 2018 Note: R2 represents the relationship between the number of approved teachers per school and the number of students. 22. Sierra Leone has three types of classrooms: i) solid classrooms, which have access to black walls that teachers can use to demonstrate concepts or write notes during lessons; ii) non-solid classrooms, which may have walls and roofs made of iron sheets; and iii) makeshift classrooms, which are made of reeds and twigs. While temporary classrooms provide teachers and learners with shelter, they often lack the necessary teaching equipment such as chalk boards. 23. Chonkoff, J & Philips, D (2000). From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; Finn, D (2002). School Size reduction in in K-3. In Molnar (Ed.), School reforms Proposal: The Research Evidence. 24. Majgaard and Mingat 2012. 25. The variation in teacher allocation that cannot be explained by variation in enrollment is calculated as 1 minus the R2. 44 The misallocation of teachers is more pronounced in close to the capital of Freetown, cannot be explained urban than rural areas, especially in the capital city. by the number of students, while the same is true This is common in many other African countries (e.g., for only 46 percent of the allocation of teachers in Kenya and Sudan). In Sierra Leone, 83 percent of the Bombali, one of the districts farthest away from the allocation of teachers in Western Area Rural, which is capital (Figure 11). Box 5 Teacher Approval and Deployment Process Teacher deployment in Sierra Leone is determined based on school approval. This means that approved schools can immediately become eligible to receive government-paid teachers. Since there is no systematic approach to approving schools, the TSC does not know how many schools will be approved within a given period and cannot prepare for the corresponding teacher approval process. Teachers send their applications to the TSC to join schools that have been granted recognition by the ministry. In fact, the TSC has a list of 16,000 qualified teachers already working in approved-schools but who are not on the government payroll. The TSC usually adds qualified teachers to the government payroll on a school-by-school basis until a school’s quota is reached. This has resulted in some schools having the ideal PTR ratio while others have no teachers. The TSC could achieve a better PTR by hiring the same number of teachers in all approved schools. However, since some teachers meet the minimum qualifications and have volunteered in schools for a considerable period of time, it has been difficult for the TSC to provide concrete reasons why one teacher in the school cannot be added to the government payroll while another in the same school can. The misallocation of teachers generates important efficiency losses, as many teachers may have a very light workload while others may be very busy. Figure 11 Distribution of Teachers and Students in Approved Primary Schools (A) Bombali (B) Western Area Rural R2=0.5365 30 60 Teachers per school Teachers per school 23 45 R2=0.1678 15 30 8 15 Source: ASC 2018 Note: The black 0 0 line represents the 0 313 625 938 1250 0 200 400 600 800 country´s ideal PTR of 40 in primary Students per school Students per school education. 45 The World Bank is working with the TSC to improve The assignment of new teachers should ideally the allocation of teachers through the adoption of a consider the gap between the current and systematic teacher deployment protocol that assigns recommended PTR for each grade level. However, teachers to the schools with the greatest needs. The since the country does not yet have an ideal PTR protocol has two phases. In the first phase, the number per level (there is only a norm of a PTR of 40 for of teachers allocated per education level is defined primary schools), the proposed methodology can according to the distribution of the student population be used to guide teacher allocation while the TSC (i.e., enrollment) in non-private schools in each grade. and the Ministry of Education determine the ideal Given that the distribution of the student population ratio for each grade level. Furthermore, in junior is a proxy for the demand of educational services, and senior secondary education, there is a need for using enrollment to allocate teachers increases the more robust deployment norms based on teachers’ likelihood that new teachers are placed in schools with workload, the subjects offered and the number of the greatest needs. The focus is on non-private schools students in each school. However, class periods do because they are potentially eligible for government not have a standard length in Sierra Leone, as some support, and teachers newly hired by the government periods can last 20 minutes while others up to an will be deployed to recently approved schools. The hour. In this context, allocating teachers based on second phase of the deployment protocol focuses a school’s workload can be difficult. The ongoing on determining the number of teachers allocated per process to establish standards in the education school within each education level. The procedure aims sector should address this challenge to ensure to equalize the PTR both between and within districts, an efficient and practical allocation of teachers in which means that the TSC hires teachers to match the secondary schools.26 national PTR with a district quota. Initial Training Figure 12 Stages of the Teaching Career - Initial Training Stage 1: Before Teaching Stage 2: While Teaching Decision Entry into Continous Pre-service Initial to apply to the teaching Deployment professional training training the teaching service development 26. Refer to Annex 1 for more details on the Teacher Deployment Protocol. 46 Although Sierra Leone does not have a national Canadian Teachers’ Federation to organize annual in- induction program for new teachers, it plans to service training courses. develop a national framework for induction and orientation. Currently, individual schools organize Nevertheless, the TSC is moving toward establishing their own induction programs with varying quality. In more coherent professional development programs the government’s Education Sector Plan 2018-2020, the and linking them to teachers’ career progression. It TSC recognizes that incoming teachers need mentoring plans to have teachers develop their own professional support to develop their skills and teaching practices. development plans and facilitate and support To ensure teachers have the necessary skills, the Plan appropriate mentorship opportunities. According instructs the TSC to work with educational institutions to the TSC, teacher training should be viewed as a to develop a national framework for induction and continuous process throughout the teaching career orientation of new teachers.27 that is linked to reward structures and advancement. For example, the TSC defines a vertical career path for The TSC has already decided that teachers should teachers with management and leadership potential receive induction training during the probation who aspire to leadership positions (e.g., principal), as period (during the first year after being hired). well as a horizontal path for gifted teachers to advance Teachers will receive their first training immediately in their careers as teachers while mentoring incoming after graduation from a teacher education institution, teachers. Advancement under the new professional before receiving a second induction training within career structure is determined not only by the years the initial six-month period of employment. This spent at each career stage but also on the amount initial training is an important first step in ensuring of professional development credits a teacher has all teachers receive some guidance before they start accumulated. The new structure consists of four teaching, as well as in preparing them for CPD. career stages: 1. New teacher with 3-4 years of In-Service Training teacher education Sierra Leone’s in-service training is mostly ad-hoc and 2. Proficient teacher with 5 years of teaching not linked to teachers’ career progression. Multiple experience and 50 credits of professional providers offer their own training programs, with development little coordination between them and limited impact on teachers’ career development and classroom 3. Highly accomplished teacher with 5 years practices. According to Wright (2018), the government as a proficient teacher and 50 credits of encourages teachers to take paid leave and apply professional development for scholarships to pursue formal qualifications or studies not available in the country. Additionally, 4. Distinguished teacher with 5 years as a Sierra Leone Teachers Union collaborates with the highly accomplished teacher and 50 credits of professional development 27. Education Sector Plan, 2018-2020, pg 75. 47 The TSC’s professional development programs and mission-managed institutions involved in the would address the needs and limitations of existing full basic education cycle.30 teachers to improve their teaching practices. The World Bank is working with the TSC to design The practice of having principals observe teachers in a CPD model to improve the knowledge, skills, and their classrooms is not widespread in Sierra Leone. pedagogical practices of teachers in core subjects.28 The feedback provided by heads of school constitutes The proposed CPD model is scalable, continuous, a vital component of the CPD model. However, in six and focuses on primary school (grades 1-6). It out of every ten schools in the country covered by plans to strengthen teachers’ pedagogical skills performance-based financing, principals do not carry in mathematics, English, and science.29 Easy-to- out classroom observations. Even when they do, they understand task- and problem-oriented modules will lack the proper training to provide evidence-based be made available to all teachers in a standard and feedback to teachers.31 The number of principals who low-cost format. Additionally, timely and continuous actively observe their schools’ classrooms varies widely support to teachers will be provided through a cluster- between regions: from only one in three in Koinadugu based communities of practice model, potentially to three in four in Karene (Figure 13). Nevertheless, involving JSSs at the district level. The intervention there was an increase the number of heads of school will first be subject to a feasibility study and a pilot, who observed teachers in their classrooms between and it will then target all government, community, December 2018 and March 2019.32 Figure 13 The Share of Teachers Observed by Principals by Region, 2019 80% 60% 40% 1st Term 2019 20% 2nd Term 2019 0% Kambia karene kenema Koinadugu kono Pujehum Tonkolili Average Source: ASC 2018. 28. Annex 2 includes further details. 29. Learning gaps will be identified through an analysis of the WAEC exam. 30. It will target 30,600 teachers and 4,370 schools, representing around two-thirds of all primary institutions. 31. Documentation on principals observing classes and providing feedback was checked during random school visits. 32. The first set of term data was collected in December 2018, while the second set was collected in March 2019. 48 Box 6 Working Conditions: Staffrooms The quality and capacity of a school will determine the impact teachers can have on student learning. For example, Kigenyi et al. (2017) find that the school environment, including staffrooms, explains up to one-third of the disparity in teacher performance in Uganda. Research shows that teacher facilities like staffrooms are important for teachers to receive social, cultural, and emotional support from their peers (Hunter et al. 2011). A significant number of teachers in Sierra Leone do not have access to staffrooms. This can make lesson preparation more difficult and reduce the ability of teachers to support their peers. Fewer than one in three primary schools have a staffroom, and fewer than two in three junior secondary schools and fewer than four in five senior secondary schools have staffrooms. Moreover, many existing staffrooms are not in usable condition, as less than 20 percent of primary schools have usable staffrooms. While staffrooms exist in 67 percent of junior secondary schools, only about half of them are usable. Table 13 Working Conditions: Staffrooms School has a staffroom % with % with Level of School Total usable Staffrooms Usable Not Usable No room staffrooms Primary 1,989 1,358 4,972 6,961 28.6% 19.5% Junior Secondary 1,031 846 493 1,524 67.7% 55.5% Senior Secondary 459 411 119 578 79.4% 71.1% Total 3,479 2,615 5,584 9,063 38.2% 28,7% Source: ASC 2018. Note: Fifty schools are missing 49 4 Teaching Practices There has been no systematic observation of classroom observations collected by Pedersen (2013) classrooms in Sierra Leone to better understand from 12 primary schools in the Tonkolili district teaching practices and learning conditions. To between 2009 and 2012. evaluate the conditions in the country’s classrooms, this study uses the following sources: (i) observations Information from available sources shows that gathered during unannounced visits made to teacher absenteeism is high. In the most recent more than 1,800 schools twice in 2019 under the unannounced school visits under the RBF program Revitalization Education Development in Sierra (March 2019), 20 percent of teachers in beneficiary Leone (REDiSL) project’s results-based financing schools were absent (Figure 14). While this rate is high, (RBF) program; (ii) baseline information collected by it represents a fall in absenteeism of 2 percentage Sharwal et al. (2014) from unannounced classroom points from the previous school term, and it is slightly visits to 828 schools in 2008;33 (iii) classroom lower than what was observed by Sharwal et al. (2014) observations made by Allen et al. (2018) from 40 in 2008, who found that 23 percent of teachers were classroom lessons in 7 rural schools; (iv) classroom absent. Teacher absenteeism is also high in hard- observations made by Hersbach et al. (2014) from 43 to-reach rural schools, which may be due to difficult classrooms at end-2011; (v) classroom observations teaching conditions and the low or non-existent pay made by Mbayo (2011) from 7 schools; and (vi) received by volunteer teachers (Allen et al. 2018). Figure 14 Average Teacher Attendance 84% 84% 85% 82% 82% 82% 82% 82% 83% 80% 79% 80% 78% 78% 75% 73% 1st Term 2019 2nd Term 2019 Kambia karene kenema Koinadugu Average Kono Pujehum Tonkolili Source: REDiSL 2019. 33. The paper contains an impact evaluation for a program focused on the distribution and use of textbooks. It included baseline information on teacher practices in grades 4 and 5 collected through unannounced visits to a randomized sample of 828 schools. 50 Even when teachers are in school, a significant share (2014), who observed that only 54 percent of teachers of them are not teaching. Data from schools visits were actively teaching in 2008. The rate of teachers not collected under the REDiSL project show that out of teaching was higher in rural areas such as Pujehun, the 80 percent of teachers who are present, 19 percent where only half of the teachers were teaching. are not in class teaching, which means that only 65 percent of employed teachers are engaged in teaching. In the second term of 2019, the share of teachers who >> (...)only 65 percent of were teaching varied from 72.0 percent in Koinadugu employed teachers are engaged to 83.4 percent in Karene (Figure 15). This represents in teaching. an improvement from the findings of Sharwal et al. Figure 15 Share of Teachers who Teach 83% 81% 80% 80% 80% 80% 79% 79% 78% 78% 75% 76% 73% 73% 72% 72% 1st Term 2019 2nd Term 2019 Kambia karene kenema Koinadugu Average Kono Pujehum Tonkolili Source: REDiSL 2019. Teachers in Sierra Leone seem to assess their students and improve the performance of teachers. Sharwal et on a regular basis. About 90 percent of teachers under al. (2014) find that 93 percent of the country’s teachers the RBF program assess their students regularly. While assigned homework from textbooks in 2008. Since there random school visits do not assess the quality of are not enough textbooks, teachers appear to copy the assessments or student performance, efforts to measure questions on the blackboard and ask students to copy and assess student progress are essential to evaluate and answer them at home as part of their homework. Figure 16 Share of Students Assessed Regularly 93% 88% 91% 91% 86% 89% 88% 81% 84% 82% 78% 79% 78% 78% 79% 62% 1st Term 2019 2nd Term 2019 Kambia karene kenema Koinadugu Kono Pujehum Tonkolili Average Source: REDiSL 2019. 51 Lessons, however, tend to be highly structured Although teachers ask their students questions, they and teacher-centered, consisting mainly of seldom incentivize critical thinking. Mbayo (2011) lectures, recitation, repetition, and copying documents teachers asking simple recall and closed- textbooks. In their classroom observations, Allen ended questions. He also mentions that students et al. (2018) find that schools in rural areas are never asked questions and had little opportunity for routinized, systematic, and orderly; teacher- critical thinking. Similarly, Allen et al. (2018) mention centered methodologies are widespread, and that although teachers integrated many questions classes almost never involve children reading into their lessons, almost all questions required books or writing. Reading lessons “occurred mostly exact repetition of information, with no need for logic through choral reading of texts that they [teachers] or inference. Finally, Herbach et al. (2014) observe wrote onto the chalkboard” (pg. 200). Herbach that for reading, teachers focused on pronunciation, et al. (2014) report similar findings, as they find learning new words, and memorization, with no that most teachers use whole class instruction apparent use of reading strategies (i.e., summarizing (which involves all students participating in the and identifying the main ideas). same activity), with teachers dedicating more than half of the lesson time to instruction. While There seem to be opportunities to improve the giving instruction, teachers mostly write on the classroom environment. A school and classroom blackboard (45 percent of the time), give oral culture conducive to learning involves a supportive instructions and ask questions (24 percent), or learning environment where students are treated instruct students to write on the blackboard (22 with respect, where positive language is used, and percent). Mbayo’s (2011) findings also show that where harmful gender and other stereotypes are lectures are the main method of teaching, and a not followed. In a positive classroom environment, large portion of class time (around one-third) is teachers clearly define expectations (e.g., listen when spent copying passages on the blackboard. Finally, its someone else’s turn to speak; be on time; give Pedersen (2013) finds that classrooms in Sierra your best effort; be kind to others; and keep the Leone are characterized by teacher monologues, classroom clean), recognize positive behavior, and rote learning, and repetition. modify inappropriate behavior through feedback. Research has found that establishing positive Teachers also seem to only rarely use lesson behavioral expectations helps students reach their plans. Allen et al. (2018) find that that, “many of the academic potential and foster positive behavior, teachers wrote on the top of the chalkboard, a lesson social skills, and self-control (Jones et al, 2013; OECD, scheme that identified the topic of study and the 2009). In Sierra Leone, however, Allen et al (2018) objectives for the day. Lesson planning beyond the fond that “discipline often consisted of harsh words, lesson scheme seemed to be a novel concept” (pg. criticism, and sometimes physical punishment 200). Consistent with this, Mbayo (2011) mentions with a long pole” (pg. 203). According to the Center that during all his visits, teachers were unable to for Disease Control in the United States, exposure show him lesson notes or lesson plans. However, to school violence can result in multiple negative close to half of all teachers (52 percent) observed health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, fear, by Sharwal et al. (2014) had a lesson plan. alcohol, and drug use.34 34. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/school_violence_fact_sheet-a.pdf 52 Box 7 Basic Inputs: Students Desks It is important to understand the physical conditions under which teachers work. One proxy of school conditions is the number of desks per student in the classroom. While inputs such as desks per student are not directly for teachers’ use, the lack of appropriate seating for students may limit a teacher’s ability to adequately teach. In Sierra Leone, students have to share desks at a higher rate than they should. Desks in the country’s schools are built to accommodate at most two learners. However, a desk is shared, on average, between four students in pre-primary, five students in primary, and three students in junior and senior secondary education (Table 14). In some schools (those in the 90th percentile in pre-primary and primary schools), the desk-to-student ratio is 9, leaving few seats available for learners. Table 14 Desk-to-Student Ratio Schools in the Schools in the Level of School Mean Std. Dev 10th percentile 90th percentile Primary 4 1 9 7.2 Junior Secondary 5 1 9 12.4 Senior Secondary 3 1 4 26.8 Total 3 1 4 11.6 Source: ASC 2018. 53 5 Planning for Teacher Needs To accurately plan the deployment of teachers, the authorities need access to accurate data on the number of current students and on expected future enrollment. This is particularly important for the TSC, which is responsible for ensuring that there are enough teachers to provide quality education under the FQSE flagship program. This section will, therefore, analyze the projected demand for. Estimating the Size of the Future Student Population School-Aged Population There are currently 3,039,000 school-aged children (pre-primary to senior secondary) in Sierra Leone (Table 15). This number is projected to increase at an annual rate of 1.05 percent,35 reaching 3,443,000 children by 2030. In September 2018, the government reformed the basic and senior secondary education system. For example, it changed the definition of school-aged children from children aged 3-18 to children aged 3-17, and it reduced the length of senior secondary schooling by one year. 35. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2017). World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision. 54 Table 15 Projected Basic and Senior Secondary School Age Population Age 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 2028 2030 3 227,091 231,560 237,303 239,639 243,588 246,783 248,997 4 224,497 227,601 232,902 237,376 240,280 243,666 246,081 5 221,822 224,114 228,937 233,583 237,040 240,613 243,243 6 219,025 220,993 225,343 230,001 233,864 237,614 240,469 7 216,063 218,131 222,015 226,607 230,747 234,659 237,744 8 212,992 215,420 218,849 223,374 227,671 231,745 235,054 9 209,869 212,754 215,971 220,201 224,622 228,869 232,382 10 206,153 210,191 213,393 216,985 221,604 225,981 229,729 11 201,601 207,791 210,933 214,088 218,533 223,054 227,093 12 196,470 204,615 208,467 211,639 215,310 220,101 224,392 13 191,277 200,223 206,103 209,382 212,390 217,078 221,585 14 185,944 195,008 202,905 207,010 209,951 213,892 218,697 15 180,612 189,830 198,420 204,680 207,714 210,944 215,721 16 175,413 184,555 193,065 201,455 205,305 208,394 212,569 17 170,293 179,218 187,742 196,871 202,901 205,994 209,591 Total 3,039,122 3,122,004 3,202,348 3,272,891 3,331,520 3,389,387 3,443,347 Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2017). World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision, DVD Edition. To calculate the proportion of children who are Scenario A, which assumes that there will be no likely to attend school, this study estimates the changes in enrollment, retention or transition projected rate of out-of-school children and calculates possible enrollment scenarios. Given Scenario B, which assumes that there that there is an important share of out-of-school will be considerable improvements, but children in Sierra Leone, the proportion of the not universalization, in enrollment rates. projected population that is likely to attend school It considers the government’s efforts to is calculated from current participation rates mainstream pre-primary education into basic and trends, including enrollment trends, access education and the FQSE program through rates, internal efficiency, etc. Moreover, given that slightly higher transition and retention rates the FQSE program will likely result in increased enrollment rates in primary education, three possible enrollment scenarios are calculated: Scenario C, which assumes universalization. While this scenario is aligned with the government’s implementation of the FQSE program, it may be fiscally and operationally unfeasible 55 A model of future enrollment must consider the children in school. The gross access rate will likely country’s retention profile. Sierra Leone’s gross access change as pre-primary enrollment increases due to rate in first grade (class 1) is 138 percent, which implies the government’s efforts to mainstream pre-primary that there are underage and overage children enrolled into basic education, train pre-primary instructors, in school. This could be the result of low access to pre- and review the pre-service training of pre-primary primary services, a high number of children repeating teachers.36 Moreover, the high dropout rate is partly the first grade, and/or parents enrolling overage due to end-of-cycle examinations. Figure 17 Retention Profile in Basic and Senior Secondary Schools by Gender 138% Boys Girls Gross Access Rate 73% 92% 67% 51% 47% 17% 14% Class 1 Class 2 Class 3 Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 J-Sec1 J-Sec2 J-Sec 3 S-Sec 1 S-Sec 2 S-Sec 3 S-Sec 4 Source: ASC 2018 36. Education Sector Plan 2018-2020 56 Table 16 Projected Progression Parameters for Basic and Senior Secondary Education District Scenario A Scenario B Scenario C Indicators 2018 2021 2023 2018 2021 2023 2018 2021 2023 Pre-Primary GER 13.5% 13.5% 13.5% 13.5% 14.4% 15.0% 13.5% 23.4% 30.0% Access to 138.5% 138.5% 138.5% 138.5% 133.4% 130.0% 138.5% 127.4% 120.0% Primary 1 Primary Retention Between C1-C2 94.9% 94.9% 94.9% 94.9% 95.9% 97.0% 94.9% 96.4% 98.0% Between C2-C3 94.9% 94.9% 94.9% 94.9% 96.2% 97.0% 94.9% 96.8% 98.0% Between C3-C4 93.2% 93.2% 93.2% 93.2% 93.7% 94.0% 93.2% 94.3% 95.0% Between C4-C5 92.2% 92.2% 92.2% 92.2% 92.7% 93.0% 92.2% 93.9% 95.0% Between C5-C6 97.0% 97.0% 97.0% 97.0% 97.6% 98.0% 97.0% 98.2% 99.0% Transition C6 to JSS1 91.3% 91.3% 91.3% 91.3% 92.3% 93.0% 91.3% 95.0% 95.0% JSS3 to SSS1 67.3% 67.3% 67.3% 67.3% 68.9% 70.0% 67.3% 71.9% 75.0% Secondary Retention JSS1-JSS2 84.9% 84.9% 84.9% 84.9% 86.1% 87.0% 84.9% 87.9% 90.0% JSS2-JSS3 86.5% 86.5% 86.5% 86.5% 87.4% 88.0% 86.5% 88.6% 90.0% SS1-SS2 92.8% 92.8% 92.8% 92.8% 93.5% 94.0% 92.8% 94.1% 95.0% SS2-SS3 82.5% 82.5% 82.5% 82.5% 84.6% 86.0% 82.5% 87.0% 90.0% Source: Authors’ calculations using data from the ASC 2018. Note: GER=gross enrollment ratio. Projected Enrolment in the highest in junior secondary education, which is Basic and Senior Secondary estimated to increase between 42 percent (scenario Education A) and 58 percent (scenario C), followed by primary education, which is projected to increase between 32 Based on the projected population, the student percent (scenario A) and 43 percent (scenario B) (Table population will increase by an estimated factor of 17). While the increase in pre-primary enrollment is around 1.4 by 2023 under all scenarios. Between 2018 modest under scenarios A and B in the same period, and 2023, the growth in enrollment is expected to be it is expected to more than double under scenario C. 57 Table 17 Projected Learners in Basic and Senior Secondary Education Scenario A Scenario B Scenario C Indicators 2018 2021 2023 2018 2021 2023 2018 2021 2023 Pre 90,701 93,077 95,178 90,701 99,425 105,997 90,701 161,620 211,994 Primary Primary 1,369,738 1,774,522 1,956,482 1,369,738 1,730,313 1,872,698 1,369,738 1,706,650 1,814,015 Junior 315,500 376,503 446,755 315,500 384,672 468,636 315,500 395,302 498,136 Secondary Senior 206,536 193,475 203,796 206,536 208,222 233,629 206,536 219,046 261,946 Secondary Source: Authors’ calculations using the ASC 2018 and UNDESA Population Projections. The feasibility of successfully increasing the school payroll in both public schools and government- enrollment rate will depend on a myriad of factors. approved community or religious schools. Since the These include the country’s fiscal capacity, the avail- launch of the program in 2018, the government has ability of classrooms and associated facilities, and begun the process of approving schools that meet the the availability of school inputs. Therefore, it is crit- minimum standards. However, the approval process ical that while the TSC focuses on teacher require- will be gradual, as the government faces operational ments and needs, a parallel process takes place at and fiscal limitations. The share of students in the Ministry of Education to identify and provide in- government-approved schools would stay the same frastructure and other critical inputs. under scenario A, but it would increase, particularly in pre-primary schools, under scenario B. Under scenario C, the government achieves full coverage of all community and mission schools. Specifically, Projected Enrolment in Government the number of students that the government will be and Government-Approved Schools responsible for under the FQSE program would grow from 1.27 million in 2018 to 1.7 million under Scenario Before determining the number of teachers required A, 1.8 million under Scenario B, and 2.6 million under to sustain the public education system, the student scenario C by 2023. These are the enrollment rates that population of public and government-approved the TSC has to plan for in the medium term, ensuring schools needs to be calculated. Under the FQSE there is enough staff to maintain or even improve the program, the government is responsible for the teacher quality of learning throughout the education system. 58 Table 18 Proportion of Enrolment in Public and Government-Approved Schools Scenario A Scenario B Scenario C Indicators 2018 2021 2023 2018 2021 2023 2018 2021 2023 Pre 34.7% 34.7% 34.7% 34.7% 43.9% 50.0% 34.7% 73.9% 100.0% Primary Primary 63.2% 63.2% 63.2% 63.2% 67.3% 70.0% 63.2% 85.3% 100.0% Junior 70.2% 70.2% 70.2% 70.2% 76.1% 80.0% 70.2% 88.1% 100.0% Secondary Senior 72.7% 72.7% 72.7% 72.7% 77.1% 80.0% 72.7% 89.1% 100.0% Secondary Source: Authors’ calculations. Table 19 Projected Learners in Approved Basic and Senior Secondary Schools Scenario A Scenario B Scenario C Indicators 2018 2019 2020 2018 2019 2020 2018 2019 2020 Pre 31,511 32,336 33,066 31,511 43,644 52,999 31,511 119,432 211,994 Primary Primary 865,726 1,121,565 1,236,570 865,726 1,164,181 1,310,888 865,726 1,455,457 1,814,015 Junior 221,612 264,461 313,807 221,612 292,722 374,909 221,612 348,248 498,136 Secondary Senior 150,156 140,660 148,164 150,156 160,499 186,903 150,156 195,128 261,946 Secondary Source: Authors’ calculations using the ASC 2018 and UNDESA’s population projections. 59 Estimating the Required Number of Teachers An accurate estimate of the teacher requirement to gradually absorb the burden of paying teachers. requires an analysis of the distribution of teachers, Between 2018 and 2023, the share of government- the difference between qualified and unqualified paid teachers is expected to increase from 24 percent teachers, and the attrition rate. The projected to 30 percent in pre-primary; from 55 percent to 60 teacher requirement follows the preliminary norms percent in primary; from 51 percent to 60 percent in defined by the MBSSE’s standards committee: a PTR junior secondary; and from 56 percent to 60 percent in of 1:25 for pre-primary and 1:40 for the remaining senior secondary. Finally, Scenario C assumes that all levels of education. However, the process to qualified teachers are absorbed by the government. determine the number of teachers needed requires more than information on the projected student In Sierra Leone, the authorities will need to population. First, it needs to consider that public recruit an estimated 11,400 to 29,500 additional schools and government-approved schools both teachers over the next five years to deliver quality have government-paid teachers and teachers who education (Table 20Table 20). Scenario A is very are paid from other sources. Indeed, less than 56 unlikely, as it assumes that the FQSE program percent of all teachers were paid by the government has no effect. Scenario B assumes an increase in 2018. Second, it also needs to consider the in enrollment, resulting in the need for around difference between qualified and unqualified 540 additional qualified teachers in pre-primary; teachers. The TSC has clearly stated that they 11,160 additional teachers in primary; close to 2,700 will only add teachers who meet the minimum additional teachers in junior secondary; and around qualifications on the government payroll. While it is 1,500 additional teachers in senior secondary unclear what will be done with unqualified teachers education. Scenario C is the ideal outlook in terms who are already being paid by the government, they of the implementation of FQSE program (assuming will most likely remain on the payroll, as efforts unlimited resources). It would require more than to remove them could entail additional political 5,100 new teachers in pre-primary; more than 18,000 costs. Finally, the process to determine the teacher teachers in primary; more than 4,000 teachers in requirement needs to consider the teacher attrition junior secondary; and more than 2,200 teachers in rate. Using the ASC 2018, the share of 59-year-old senior secondary education. However, the country teachers is the highest in pre-primary education currently only has 2,700 pre-primary school teachers, at 10 percent, followed by the primary level at 8 and the new additional primary school teachers percent and junior and senior secondary education would be more than half of the existing labor force at 5.6 percent. (close to 30,000 teachers for approved schools and close to 50,000 for all schools). Moreover, these are With these additional considerations, the teacher macro-level projections, so the authorities need to requirement can be calculated based on the determine the specific needs of each community. different scenarios. Scenario A assumes that the The additional teachers to be recruited also need to share of government-paid teachers is the same be considered alongside the efficient re-distribution until 2023. Scenario B allows for the government of teachers in the education system. 60 61 Table 20 Projected Teacher Requirement in Approved Basic and Senior Secondary Schools Scenario A Scenario B Scenario C Indicators 2018 2019 2020 2018 2019 2020 2018 2019 2020 Pre-Primary All Teachers in approved pre-primaries 2,509 2,662 2,786 2,509 3,547 4,507 2,509 8,300 16,960 Teachers paid by TSC 602 639 668 602 979 1,352 602 3,287 8,480 % of TSC paid teachers 24.0% 24.0% 24.0% 24.0% 27.6% 30.0% 24.0% 39.6% 50.0 Qualified teachers paid by TSC 569 604 632 569 946 1,325 569 3,215 8,480 % of Qualified teachers paid by TSC 94.5% 94.5% 94.5% 94.5% 96.6% 98.0% 94.5% 97.8% 100.0% Pupil Teacher Ratio (All teachers) 13 12 12 13 12 12 13 14 13 Pupil Teacher Ratio (TSC Teachers) 52 51 49 52 45 39 52 36 25 Pupil Teacher Ratio (Qualified TSC Teachers) 55 54 52 55 46 40 55 37 25 Additional Teachers Required 0 74 78 0 227 312 0 1,482 3,709 Primary All Teachers in approved primaries 30,139 42,500 49,796 30,139 44,876 55,172 30,139 47,647 60,467 Teachers paid by TSC 16,497 23,263 27,256 16,497 25,981 33,103 16,497 31,873 45,350 % of TSC paid teachers 54.7% 54.7% 54.7% 54.7% 57.9% 60.0% 54.7% 66.9% 75.0% Qualified teachers paid by TSC 14,262 20,112 23,564 14,262 22,702 29,131 14,262 30,146 45,350 % of Qualified teachers paid by TSC 86.5% 86.5% 86.5% 86.5% 87.4% 88.0% 86.5% 94.6% 100.0% Pupil Teacher Ratio (All teachers) 29 26 25 29 26 24 29 31 30 Pupil Teacher Ratio (TSC Teachers) 52 48 45 52 45 40 52 46 40 Pupil Teacher Ratio (Qualified TSC Teachers) 61 56 52 61 51 45 61 48 40 Additional Teachers Required 0 3,791 4,037 5,055 6,106 0 7,711 10,310 62 Scenario A Scenario B Scenario C Indicators 2018 2019 2020 2018 2019 2020 2018 2019 2020 Junior Secondary All Teachers in approved JSS 12,384 15,811 19,678 12,384 14,089 16,443 12,384 13,996 16,605 Teachers paid by TSC 6,265 7,999 9,955 6,265 7,923 9,866 6,265 9,130 12,453 % of TSC paid teachers 50.6% 50.6% 50.6% 50.6% 56.2% 60.0% 50.6% 65.2% 75.0% Qualified teachers paid by TSC 5,583 7,128 8,871 5,583 7,341 9,373 5,583 8,733 12,453 % of Qualified teachers paid y TSC 89.1% 89.1% 89.1% 89.1% 92.6% 95.0% 89.1% 95.6% 100.0% Pupil Teacher Ratio (All teachers) 18 17 16 18 21 23 18 25 30 Pupil Teacher Ratio (TSC Teachers) 35 33 32 35 37 38 35 38 40 Pupil Teacher Ratio (Qualified TSC Teachers) 40 37 35 40 40 40 40 40 40 Additional Teachers Required 0 1,326 1,391 0 1,304 1,388 0 1,849 2,226 Senior Secondary All Teachers in approved SSS 5,928 6,053 6,782 5,928 6,901 8,653 5,928 6,806 8,732 Teachers paid by TSC 3,301 3,370 3,777 3,301 4,022 5,192 3,301 4,579 6,549 % of TSC paid teachers 55.7% 55.7% 55.7% 55.7% 58.3% 60.0% 55.7% 67.3% 75.0% Qualified teachers paid by TSC 2,847 2,907 3,257 2,847 3,559 4,673 2,847 4,327 6,549 % of Qualified teachers paid by TSC 86.2% 86.2% 86.2% 86.2% 88.5% 90.0% 86.2% 94.5% 100.0% Pupil Teacher Ratio (All teachers) 25 23 22 25 23 22 25 29 30 Pupil Teacher Ratio (TSC Teachers) 45 42 39 45 40 36 45 43 40 Pupil Teacher Ratio (Qualified TSC Teachers) 53 48 45 53 45 40 53 45 40 Additional Teachers Required 0 191 514 0 468 1,021 0 718 1,553 Source: Authors’ calculations using the ASC 2018 and proposed staffing norms. 63 6 Key Recommendations This chapter presents recommendations for the stage of the teacher career cycle; (ii) teaching practices; authorities in Sierra Leone to improve the quality of and (iii) the capacity and coherence of the education education by supporting and elevating the country’s system based on projected teacher requirements. teachers. The recommendations focus on: (i) each 64 6.1 Teaching Career Recommendations focusing on the teacher career stages and divided between the period before a cycle affect aspiring as well as current teachers. teacher starts to teach (stage 1) and the period during They are segmented along the six different career which a teacher is teaching (stage 2) (Figure 18). Figure 18 Key Recommendations throughout the Teacher Career Cycle Stage 1: Before Teaching Stage 2: While Teaching Decision Continous Entry into to pursue Pre-service Initial the teaching Deployment professional the teaching training training service development carrer Advertise Work with the six Strictly avoid Institutionalize Create a policy Implement the favorable institutions to incorporating teacher which takes on practical and conditions of institute minimum unqualified deployment account the new continuous governemnt standards teachers in protocol instruments classroom-based employment government payroll created by the teacher training in high TSC and the schools and probationary universities period Communicate the Improve entry and Consider selecting Consider rural Implement the importance of the exit exams teachers using a or hardship professional career test allowances development standards Incentivize fair Make training Design a process Revamp the role pay among non- content more for upskilling of the principal government hires practical and unqualified competency based government-paid teachers Expand the Encourage non mentoring pilot approved schools to hire qualified teachers Coordinate the Use the supply of teachers probationary with the TSC period wisely Adapt based Favor female hires on graduates' performance Attract female students 65 Stage 1: Before the government. The share of teachers who are on the government payroll is 24 percent in pre-primary, 55 Teaching percent in primary, 51 percent in junior secondary, and 56 percent in senior secondary education. Teachers Decision to Pursue a Teaching not paid by the government earn, on average, less than their government-paid counterparts (e.g., 30 percent Career less for volunteer teachers), as they hope to eventually be added to the government payroll. Alarmingly, more Improve the pool of graduates interested in the than half of all teachers admit going to work hungry teaching service to increase the quality of the (Bennell and Akyeampong 2007). country’s education system. While this process will take time, the hiring of 15,000 teachers under the FQSE program presents a unique window of opportunity. The authorities should ensure high school students are Pre-Service Training aware of the competitive salaries37 and flexible hours offered in the government sector and the transparent Explore ways to improve pre-service training in process that exists in hiring public-sector workers. Sierra Leone. Pre-service training is often ignored in High school graduates need to know that teachers government educational reforms in African countries. work fewer hours than educated workers in non- Instead, countries often engage in expensive in-service teaching jobs, and they should be familiar with the training, trying to remediate the shortcomings of pre- TSC’s learning and career advancement opportunities. service training (Martin 2019). This results in a system that is never in equilibrium—constantly trying to Ensure that the FQSE program’s communications address the low quality of graduates of teacher training campaigns include the message that teaching is a institutions. With only six pre-service providers in complex and intellectually demanding career with Sierra Leone, supervision and coordination becomes an immense social contribution. Similar campaigns much easier than in other countries with a multitude have been implemented in several countries. For of providers. Also, these six institutions are already example, the District of Columbia in the United States coordinating their work, including on standards for has posters all over the city stating, “You don’t need exit exams. However, additional efforts are needed to be famous to be unforgettable,” and schools in to improve teachers’ content knowledge, pedagogical Delhi, India, organize an event on Teacher’s Day to talk skills, and teaching practices and guarantee minimum about the challenges faced by teachers, students, and standards in service provision. parents (Beteille et al. 2019). Moreover, Chile created a campaign called Choose to Teach (Elige Educar) that Make it more selective to be admitted to pre-service used social media to create a cultural shift with regard training programs and guarantee the quality of to the value of teachers. graduates from the country’s TTCs. TTCs need to signal to graduates that the teaching career is both Incentivize private, community, and mission schools a rewarding and demanding career path, which could to reward qualified teachers to improve the prestige lead to fewer graduates than needed in the short of the teaching career. This is important given that term. Graduation exams should also be modified to more than half of all teachers are not employed by follow international best practices, making sure that 37. Primary-level government-employed teachers earn more (122 percent) than other comparable educated professionals in non-teaching jobs, and those working in secondary schools earn slightly less (98 percent). 66 they evaluate competencies of students training to will be particularly important givent hat the demand be teachers, and that the competency required to get for teachers will also increase as a result of efforts a teacher diploma is raised. For example, students to mainstream preschools and the implementation of should be required to answer more than 25 percent the FSQE policy. of the questions on the exit exams correct to receive their TC or degree. Encourage TTCs to learn from the performance of their graduates. For example, TTCs can monitor Strengthen the curriculum to guarantee minimum their graduates and assess their performance, or a standards for teacher training graduates. The mechanism can be created to ensure that information curriculum should follow the new national basic gathered by school principals and supervisors is education curriculum and syllabi. It should also systematically shared with TTCs, which can use the be linked to the new teacher standards developed information to improve their services over time. Since by the TSC, which specify the competencies that the collection and transfer of data on graduates may teachers must effectively master. Classes should shift not be feasible in the short term, the TSC could share their focus from the theory of teaching to practical general trends in knowledge gaps with TTCs, or the strategies applicable to the reality of classrooms in TTCs can approximate the gaps in content knowledge Sierra Leone, including how to deal with underage by analyzing Basic Education Certificate Examination and overage children, overcrowding, lack of teaching (BECE) and WASSCE results. materials, and students with lack of foundational skills. Moreover, there should be time for students Attract, recruit, and retain more female teachers so to practice the strategies and receive real-time they can mentor girls and encourage them to stay feedback from teachers and mentors. The European in school. More than 70 percent of teachers in Sierra Union-supported Mentoring Pre-service Teacher Leone are men, which could mean that there are fewer Training Program in Sierra Leone represents a step in role models for girls, and girls may be more at risk in this direction, and it is currently being piloted in Bo, a male-dominated environment, lowering the school Kenema, Port Loko, and Makeni. The program relies enrollment rate for girls. Strategies to counter this on school mentors who support student teachers include a communications campaign highlighting the during a practicum experience, demonstrating to potential of girls to become teachers in the future; students what it means to be an effective teacher scholarships for girls entering TTCs; hiring rules that in real-life settings. The practicum will count toward favor women when two equally prepared candidates graduation requirements. apply for a teaching post; and special incentives to attract and retain female teachers. Ensure that the TSC coordinates with TTCs so that the supply of teachers matches the demand from schools in terms of both quantity and subject- Entry into the Teaching Service matter expertise. For instance, the fall in the number of students with HTCs for secondary, along with Reduce the share of unqualified teachers in the increased enrollment in secondary education, may education system. The TSC should encourage private, foreshadow a lack of secondary education teachers. community, and mission schools to refrain from Increased coordination between the TSC and TTCs recruiting unqualified teachers, which may be difficult 67 in the short term. Eventually, when the government’s Make the registration and licensing process capacity to supervise the TSC is stronger, schools with mandatory for new and existing teachers. Currently, unqualified teachers should not be allowed to operate. many government schools have non-approved teachers. Under the FQSE program, these schools Avoid adding teachers to the government payroll will likely ask for the regularization of these who do not meet the minimum standards. The teachers, many of whom are unlikely to meet the quality of learning depends on the quality of minimum qualifications. The TSC should ensure teachers. In the past, school administrators have that only qualified teachers are hired. It should accepted unqualified teachers to meet the growing also supervise the process of approved-teacher demand for teachers throughout the country, and deployment so that government-paid teachers these teachers tend to stay once hired. The TSC are not placed in non-approved schools and the should continue its efforts to regularize the teaching quality of education is guaranteed in government- force by only incorporating teachers who meet the approved schools. Until now, the enforcement of minimum standards. practice requirements has been hampered by a largely non-functional TSC.38 With the recruitment of new officers in the 16 districts, the TSC should be able to improve its oversight of teacher >> While high-stake tests for adults are recruitment. difficult to design and administer, the Mexican experience shows that even teacher entry tests which are Establish a grace period in which teachers are not good at predicting who will be expected to present their certification documents a good teacher, can improve the to continue teaching. In the short term, it is quality of applicants unrealistic to expect schools will be able to remove all untrained or uncertified teachers, as there are currently not enough trained professionals to fill Consider testing applicants to improve the selection more than 30 percent of the country’s classrooms. of government-hired teachers. For example, the Additionally, untrained teachers have been present current first in, first out system of hiring teachers in classrooms (often volunteering) for years could be modified to one that tests teachers with the and have acquired immense knowledge, which minimum qualifications and ensures only the ones must be harnessed. Therefore, there should be a with the highest scores are added to the government mechanism to upgrade the skills of teachers who payroll. While high-stake tests for adults are difficult do not meet the minimum standards. The TSC is to design and administer, the Mexican experience currently working with the Education Commission to shows that even teacher entry tests which are not harness the potential of untrained and unqualified good at predicting who will be a good teacher, can teachers, including finding potential pathways for improve the quality of applicant because many professionalization,39 designing professionalization ineffective candidates are likely to be discouraged packages,40 and implementing pilots in several from applying due to the mere existence of the test. district with the greatest needs.41 38. While the commission was established in 2011, it was not until recently that the independent TSC started to operate. 39. Such as the creation of new roles like learning assistant, community education worker, itinerant special needs support. 40. Including job description, position in the pay scale, selection process, deployment strategy training and development approach, implementation plan and costs. 41. Education Workforce Initiative, 2019, “Terms of Reference: Initial Country Partner Sierra Leone.” 68 Leverage the probationary period of all newly hired Institutionalize the teacher deployment process and government-employed teachers to ensure only improve the collection and use of data to inform the effective teachers are kept on the government allocation of teachers. The decentralization process payroll. The probationary period, which many envisioned in the FQSE program poses a risk to the countries do not have, can be used to evaluate the implementation of a systematic teacher deployment potential of newly hired teachers and dismiss those process. In large or expanding education systems, that are not demonstrating sufficient knowledge and adherence to norm-based staffing allocations tends skills. This is especially important since research to weaken when decision-making is transferred to shows that, on average, teachers do not dramatically lower levels of administration. The experience of many improve after their first few years on the job (Beteille African countries highlights that teacher allocation et al. 2019). Given that Sierra Leonean teachers accept rules need to be carefully institutionalized so that the probationary period, the TSC should make careful they are applied over time. Also, the authorities use of it to assess the effectiveness of teachers, help need access to comprehensive and regular data (e.g., failing teachers to improve, and have a system in the ASC) to ensure that the allocation of teachers is place to remove nonperforming teachers. efficient and follows the rules. Equipped with relevant data, ministries can prioritize understaffed schools during the allocation of newly hired teachers and Deployment hold discussions with key stakeholders (e.g., elected officials, village leaders, unions, etc.) based on Ensure a systematic teacher deployment process uncontested data. In Sierra Leone, efforts to improve that allocates newly recruited teachers to schools the teacher allocation process will be limited by the with the greatest needs (e.g., higher PQTR, lowest size of the government-paid teacher cadre. learning levels). According to the current deployment protocol, developed jointly by the World Bank and the Consider the implementation of rural or hardship TSC, newly hired teachers are distributed throughout allowances to incentivize teachers to serve in the the education system based on enrollment rates most disadvantaged areas. This is important given (e.g., if 60 percent of the students are in primary the difficult conditions of some rural areas and the schools, these schools receive 60 percent of the lack of teachers in these areas. There are many types newly hired teachers). New teachers are deployed to of allowances that the government can consider. For schools with the highest PTRs. Since all new teachers instance, government-paid teachers in Sri Lanka receive are qualified, this process also increases the PQTR. a flat-rate cost of living allowance and a percentage Given that the expected workload for teachers has special allowance, and teachers in India receive both not been defined by the Standards Committee, the cost of living and city compensatory allowances, current deployment protocol does not consider among others. The additional fiscal burden of these other needs such as subject-matter expertise, allowances may be hard to absorb in Sierra Leone, as which is crucial to consider to improve the quality the government is implementing the FQSE program of learning. In addition, retiring teachers should not and already allocates 20 percent of the public budget be automatically replaced, unless the school can to education. The TSC should, therefore, evaluate demonstrate the need. In the medium term, teachers creative solutions to incentivize teachers to serve in should also be able to be relocated to maximize the disadvantaged areas, including career progression efficiency of the education system. benefits and other non-pecuniary incentives. 69 Stage 2: professional development, which is aligned with best practices for effective in-service training, including: While Teaching (i) face-to-face interaction; (ii) linkage to professional incentives; (iii) practice with other teachers; and (iv) follow-up visits in the teacher’s own classroom Initial Training (Beteille et al. 2019). The TSC’s training program Strengthen initial and in-service training. To ensure aims to implement continuous, classroom-based, in-service training. To ensure in-service training is and practical training that aims to target teachers’ not ad hoc, the induction program for new teachers weaknesses, improve their motivation and morale, and should be piloted and rolled out across the country. incentivize accountability and responsibility.42 Training This program should inform teachers of their rights sessions should be action-oriented and initially focus and responsibilities and clarify the rules of the on the core subjects. The authorities should explore probationary period. ways to use technology to improve the quality of training, and the program should also constitute a Implement an effective professional development mechanism for career advancement. An in-service that is practical, face-to-face, linked to incentives. training proposal that fits these criteria based on a This program should be based on the TSC’s vision of community of practice model is explained in Annex II. 42. Professional Standards for Teachers and School Leaders in Sierra Leone. 70 Box 8 The Importance of Setting Clear Expectations The education system needs to clearly define what is expected of teachers and how they will be assessed during their careers. Some teachers believe that their responsibility is to teach instead of ensuring that their student learn. These are distinctly different tasks, as teaching may not necessarily result in all students mastering the content knowledge. According to Wright (2018), there are “two distinct sets of expectations: (i) a minimalist set of expectations stresses content and pedagogy (what to teach and how to teach), including a donor-funded project on the use of prescribed lesson plans, and (ii) a maximalist set of expectations has a wider array of competencies, including why teach and what is the outcome of successful teaching. This continues to be an integral part of three-year teacher education courses” (pg. 13). The Professional Standards for Teachers and School Leaders in Sierra Leone, launched in 2017, should be taught and reinforced in the continuous professional development program. These standards specify the expectations for Sierra Leone’s teachers, establishing three competencies that teachers must have: professional knowledge, professional practice, and professional engagement. The TSC is making efforts to communicate these expectations to professional teachers. 6.2 Teaching Reduce teacher absenteeism. The authorities should scale up the RBF program, which incentivizes both Practices teachers and students to attend school by tying grants to observed behavior during announced visits. This should be paired with principals having a more active role in supervising teachers and incentivizing appropriate behavior. Many head teachers in Sierra Leone state that they cannot enforce teacher attendance because some teachers are unpaid. The large share of unpaid teachers should fall when the number of approved schools (and in turn teachers’ pay) increase under the FQSE program. Leverage assessments and homework assignment to improve educational outcomes. The TSC should try to systematize the use of assessments and homework assignments among teachers. It should also take advantage of the experience of trained teachers to teach their peers how to effectively use tests and homework to maximize learning. To increase the quality of teaching in Sierra Leone, the authorities should consider improving current pedagogical practices: 71 Current Vision Lesson facilitation Teacher-centered pedagogy Student-centered pedagogy Lesson plans with clearly articulated lesson objectives No lesson plans and contextually relevant classroom activities linked to lesson objectives and real-life applications. Checking for understanding/ critical thinking Questions that help students determine if they understand Close-ended and repetition-based questions the material and incentivize students to think (e.g., explain, generalize, summarize, compare, contrast, etc.). No identification of underperforming students Lessons that target underperforming students. A significant share of the lesson time is spent With the FQSE program, textbooks will be delivered to all on copying textbooks schools, freeing up time for more substantive work. Feedback Students are incentivized to ask questions and contribute Students do not participate in class during class, and teachers will clarify concepts and topics to students to avoid misunderstandings. Classroom culture Harsh discipline, sometimes involving physical Teacher should treat all students respectfully, using punishment positive language and reinforcement. Note: Adapted from TEACH 2018. 6.3 Size of the expected expansion of the education system (through the FQSE program and efforts to mainstream pre- Education System primary into basic education) will increase the demand for teachers. Therefore, the TSC needs to ensure that Develop and implement a strategy for the TSC to there are no “ghost teachers,” follow a deployment ensure that the PTR determined by the Standards protocol based on current PTR in all districts, and Committee is followed during the deployment of freeze the recruitment of unqualified teachers. qualified teachers. w of teachers in Sierra Leone, with a PTR ranging from 12 in pre-primary to 27 Evaluate options for the authorities to meet the in primary education, but more than one-third of teacher requirements while ensuring only qualified them are unqualified. The country will not be able teachers are added to the government payroll. The to immediately reduce unqualified teachers, as the full implementation of the FQSE program would 72 require adding more than 29,500 new teachers to the assistant teachers (under contract) until the government payroll over the next five years. Under a education system is fiscally strong enough to more conservative scenario, more than 11,400 teachers rely solely on trained teachers. These assistant would need to be added to the teaching force. Due teachers could be unapproved volunteer to fiscal limitations, only 25,000 new teachers will be teachers, who would later likely ask to be joining the government cadre over the next five years formally added to the government payroll. If under the FSQE program. To ensure there are enough class sizes need to be adjusted, the authorities teachers in Sierra Leone, the government should should avoid increasing the size of pre-primary consider: or primary classes, as research shows that early education has a lasting impact and is critical 1. Hiring more than the planned 25,000 for creating a foundation of literacy, numeracy, teachers. The decision to hire more than the and socio-emotional skills. Alternatively, TTCs planned number of teachers has important could designate teachers in training as “class fiscal implications and needs to be accepted by assistants” and deploy them to schools. This the Ministry of Finance. Assuming an average way they can learn the craft of teaching under monthly teacher salary of US$119, hiring the the supervision of an experienced teacher while extra 29,500 teachers would imply a total cost helping to address the teacher shortage. In of more than US$40 million per year the United Kingdom, for example, educational training institutions require their students to spend a large proportion of their time in schools 2. Changing the standard for the PTR. Preliminarily, the Standards Committee estimates a PTR of 1:25 for pre-primary and 3. Reducing the rate of approval of new 1:40 for all remaining education levels. schools. This can be done by ensuring that The government could increase the PTR or only schools that meet all the minimum the PQTR for secondary schools by adding standards are approved Box 9 Coherence in the Education System Since a significant part of Sierra Leone’s education system is not run by the government, the TSC has a critical role in ensuring a minimum quality of the country’s schools and that education policies are coherent. A critical first step is the creation of standards, guidelines, and protocols for the entire education system. However, the TSC also needs a strong supervision mechanism to guarantee that standards, guidelines, and protocols are followed and that a minimum quality is attained throughout the system. 73 Annex I Simple Protocol for Teacher Deployment In fulfilment of the Free Education Policy, the Government is approving schools that qualify for government support. As mentioned in the main text above, the TSC has the mandate to recruit teachers for these newly approved schools. The following sections describe proposed methodology for selecting the institutions where teachers should be hired and for determining the number of teachers that should be employed in each school. We propose a two-phased process in which the number of teachers allocated per level is defined first, and the number of teachers allocated to each school is determined second. Phase 1: Define the number of teachers allocated per education level We recommend defining the number of teachers per grade level according to the distribution of the student population in non-private schools (see Table 21). Using enrollment will guarantee that new teachers serve the current student population in the best possible way, given that the distribution of the student population is a proxy for demand of educational services per level. We focus on non-private schools because they are potentially eligible for government support, and newly hired teachers will be deployed to recently approved schools. If one follows the proposed rule and defines the number of teachers per grade level according to the distribution of student enrollment in non-private schools, and the Government decided to hire 5,000 teachers to schools whose approval status is changing from ‘non- approved’ to ‘approved’, these would be assigned as follows: 150 in pre-primary; 3,550 in Primary; 800 in junior secondary; and 500 in senior secondary. 74 It is important to note that the assignment of new Table 21 Distribution of teachers to each level should ideally be done student population based on the gap between the current and the across education recommended PTR for each educational level. levels However, since the country does not yet have an ideal PTR per level (there is only a norm of PTR Distribution of 40 for primary), the proposed methodology Level of student can be used to guide teacher allocation while population the TSC and the Ministry of Education determine Pre-Primary 3% the ideal ratio per level. Further, in junior and senior secondary, there is need for more robust Primary 71% deployment norms based on school-by-school Junior Secondary 16% subject load establishment. For instance, if Senior Secondary 10% school A offers 10 subjects with a total enrolment of 100 students, there is need to consider how Total 100% many students are separately enrolled in the 10 Note: Calculations taking on account schools subjects and determine the curriculum load for which are not approved and not private. the 10 subjects and deploy teachers accordingly rather than the simplistic computation of a PTR. Using the PTR approach would mean deploying 3 teachers based on the national norm for primary of 40 pupils per teacher. This may end up affecting the delivery of many of the subjects offered at secondary. Phase 2: Define the number of teachers allocated to each school Acknowledging the existence of potential political barriers to different teacher allocation methods, we propose two alternative approaches: i) Hiring teachers to match the National PTR with District Quota; and ii) hiring teachers to match the district level PTR. Option 1: Hire teachers to match the National PTR with District Quota The proposed methodology aims to equalize the pupil-teacher ratio both between and within districts. To do so, it proposes to hire teachers in the most deprived schools nationwide through the following steps: 75 1. Calculate the National PTR for approved schools by dividing the total enrolment in all approved schools by the total number of government teachers in approved schools. (See the variable Nat. PTR_Apvd in the Simulation file) PTRNational(Apvd)= Enrollment in approved schoolsNational (1) Teachers of government employed teachersNational 2. Calculate the PTR in each school based on government supplied teachers by dividing the total number of students by the total number of governments employed teachers. In cases where there is no government teacher, the ratio is taken to be the total number of learners/students in that school. PTRSchool(govt)= Enrollment School Government employed teachers (2) Shool 3. Calculate the additional teachers required in each school by dividing enrollment over the National pupil-teacher ratio and subtracting the number of existing teachers from that. New teachersSchool(govt)= Enrollment School - Existing teachersSchool PTR National (Apvd) (3) This equation results from the following: As stated above, the objective is to reach a state where the PTR of each school equals the average PTR at a national level with government supplied teachers: PTRNational(apvd)= PTRSchool(govt) (4) Subtituting (2) into (4) PTRNational(Apvd)= EnrollmentSchool (5) Government employed teachers School The total number of teachers in the school will be the existing teachers plus the newly hired teachers: Government employed teachersSchool= Existing teachersSchool + New teachersSchool (6) Subtituting (6) into (5) PTRNational(Apvd)= EnrollmentSchool Existing teachersSchool + New teachersSchool 76 Solving for the number of new teachers in the school: (PTRNational(Apvd) )* (Existing teachersSchool)=EnrollmentSchool Existing teachersSchool + New teachersSchool(govt) = EnrollmentSchool PTRNational(Apvd) Note: existing teachers plus new teachers is variable Required_Trs_Nat in the Excel file. New teachersSchool(govt) = EnrollmentSchool - Existing teachersSchool PTRNational(Apvd) 4. Compute the quota of teachers for each district and for each level: Having computed the demand for each school (the required number of teachers to ensure that non-approved schools conform to the national PTR) and having computed the quota for each school level (Phase 1 above), we compute the provision for each district proportionate to its demand by dividing the total number of teachers required by non-approved schools in a given district to move to the national PTR by the number of teachers required nationally and multiply by the overall quota for respective level schools. The following equation describes the procedure: District Quota = ( Number of teachers Required in the District Number of teachers Required in the Country ) * School level quota (7) 5. Allocate teachers to recently-approved Schools: The final step is to allocate teachers to schools drawing from the district quota. Using the school PTR (based on government teachers), we rank the schools from the highest to the lowest PTR and allocate teachers to schools iteratively for as long as the balance in the quota after allocation in one school allows us to allocate top the next school. We perform a stepwise summation of all teachers allocated so that as we allocate teachers we constantly check that the cumulative sum of teachers allocated so far is still within the district quota. The allocation in a district stops as soon as the quota in the district is exhausted. 77 Table 22 Resulting allocations in pre-primary, allocation based on national PTR % Total Schools Allocated PTR Before PTR After District Schools Schools Covered Teachers Allocation Allocation Covered Bo 42 4 9.5% 10 55 49 Bombali 39 4 10.3% 7 38 35 Bonthe 20 4 20.0% 5 70 58 Falaba 4 1 25.0% 2 76 64 Kailahun 34 3 8.8% 11 84 63 Kambia 20 4 20.0% 5 71 59 Karene 8 1 12.5% 3 84 59 Kenema 28 3 10.7% 6 48 44 Koinadugu 10 1 10.0% 3 55 47 Kono 87 11 12.6% 35 293 113 Moyamba 16 2 12.5% 3 47 42 Port Loko 40 3 7.5% 14 48 41 Pujehun 8 1 12.5% 1 72 63 Tonkolili 56 5 8.9% 11 48 42 Western Area 59 8 13.6% 17 249 121 Rural Western Area 72 8 11.1% 17 52 47 Urban National 543 63 11.6% 150 115 66 Source: 2018 ASC. In primary, the allocation would reach more than 1,200 schools, representing 47% of the non-private schools (See Table 6). Although the PTR would improve (from 77 to 58 learners per teacher), it would still be higher than the nationally recommended norm. Future hiring processes should focus on decreasing this PTR by increasing the number of teachers that go to primary. 78 Table 23 Resulting allocations in primary, allocation based on national PTR % PTR Total Schools Allocated PTR After District Schools Before Schools Covered Teachers Allocation Covered Allocation Bo 209 82 39.2% 253 57 51 Bombali 181 80 44.2% 194 56 49 Bonthe 101 49 48.5% 115 66 54 Falaba 145 85 58.6% 180 128 67 Kailahun 192 89 46.4% 243 73 59 Kambia 169 91 53.8% 283 93 69 Karene 154 90 58.4% 289 126 74 Kenema 165 64 38.8% 178 59 54 Koinadugu 108 58 53.7% 165 76 58 Kono 292 140 47.9% 461 103 68 Moyamba 238 102 42.9% 265 69 56 Port Loko 187 92 49.2% 247 70 60 Pujehun 105 45 42.9% 88 65 57 Tonkolili 278 118 42.4% 266 60 52 Western Area 104 51 49.0% 204 65 52 Rural Western Area 76 32 42.1% 120 39 37 Urban National 2,704 1,268 46.9% 3,551 77 58 Source: 2018 ASC. In junior secondary, the allocation would reach 166 schools, representing 36% of the non- private junior secondary schools (See Table 7). Overall, the PTR would go from 49 to 40 students per teacher. Districts like Kono and Moyamba would have an improvement of more than 14 units of the PTR following this allocation. 79 Table 24 Resulting allocations in junior secondary, allocation based on national PTR % PTR Total Schools Allocated PTR After District Schools Before Schools Covered Teachers Allocation Covered Allocation Bo 25 7 28.0% 23 29 29 Bombali 36 10 27.8% 37 31 29 Bonthe 16 8 50.0% 23 45 38 Falaba 6 3 50.0% 10 54 44 Kailahun 16 5 31.3% 32 54 48 Kambia 37 15 40.5% 73 58 45 Karene 18 6 33.3% 24 52 45 Kenema 24 8 33.3% 48 54 50 Koinadugu 10 4 40.0% 11 45 42 Kono 59 23 39.0% 141 74 48 Moyamba 36 14 38.9% 61 59 45 Port Loko 67 21 31.3% 87 41 36 Pujehun 8 4 50.0% 25 61 49 Tonkolili 27 9 33.3% 46 44 40 Western Area 47 19 40.4% 90 54 43 Rural Western Area 36 10 27.8% 71 32 31 Urban National 468 166 35.5% 802 49 40 Source: 2018 ASC. In senior secondary, the allocation would reach 89 schools translating to 70 percent of the eligible schools (See Table 8). Overall, the PTR will improve by 18 PTR units from the current 64 to 46 students per teacher. We note that in Senior Secondary, the allocation to non-approved schools will not exhaust the available quota of teachers – computed on the strength of school population at each of the school levels. The 98 teachers could be: (i) deployed to approved schools with high PTR (such as those in Western Area Rural); or (ii) deployed to other educational levels that still have high PTR such as primary. 80 Table 25 Resulting allocations in senior secondary, allocation based on national PTR % Total Schools Allocated PTR Before PTR After District Schools Schools Covered Teachers Allocation Allocation Covered Bo 12 3 25.0% 9 37 36 Bombali 9 7 77.8% 43 50 44 Bonthe 5 5 100.0% 13 45 40 Falaba 0 0 0.0% 0 0 0 Kailahun 7 5 71.4% 11 53 49 Kambia 2 0 0.0% 0 39 39 Karene 4 2 50.0% 4 50 46 Kenema 7 6 85.7% 19 54 51 Koinadugu 3 1 33.3% 2 52 51 Kono 19 15 78.9% 101 74 47 Moyamba 5 1 20.0% 1 26 26 Port Loko 7 4 57.1% 14 39 37 Pujehun 1 0 0.0% 0 26 26 Tonkolili 4 1 25.0% 1 41 41 Western Area 20 18 90.0% 87 140 67 Rural Western Area 23 21 91.3% 97 47 43 Urban National 128 89 69.5% 402 64 46 Source: 2018 ASC. In junior secondary, the allocation would reach 166 schools, representing 36% of the non- private junior secondary schools (See Table 7). Overall, the PTR would go from 49 to 40 students per teacher. Districts like Kono and Moyamba would have an improvement of more than 14 units of the PTR following this allocation. 81 Annex II Continous Professional Development (CPD) Program There are many possible models for CPD. What follows describes the one alternatively originally designed with the Government of Sierra Leone. It will be adjusted based on a feasibility study and the results of a pilot. Four neighboring schools will be grouped into a cluster. Teachers will receive daily highly structured and detailed lesson plans; examples of rapid student assessment tools; and other useful resources.43 They will participate in cluster meetings at the beginning of each term, obtaining training and an explanation of the content in their package of tools. Once in school, they will participate in structured weekly after-school meetings where Lead Teachers (LT) will reinforce concepts and tackle practical problems.Teachers will also receive face-to- face practical and immediately relevant feedback after classroom observations from their headmaster (at least once per month), and from a knowledgeable district coach (twice per term). In each school, teachers will be incentivized to meet in-between visits to discuss their challenges and lessons learned. Finally, they will also have the possibility of accessing additional one-on-one interaction through phone and short message services with their LT and Coach. LTs and coaches will be recruited based on merit and will be thoroughly prepared. In each cluster, a knowledgeable teacher in mathematics, English and science will be designated as LT. They will receive monetary and career incentives to perform after-school activities, as well as additional materials in pre-loaded solar tablets: methodological guides; easy- to-understand detailed lesson plans for after-school meetings which will be aligned to the lesson plans received by teachers; short videos of other Sierra Leonean teachers exemplifying subject-specific strategies to explain difficult-to-understand topics and general pedagogical techniques.44 They will also receive just-in-time support from district coaches, and special in-depth trainings. Experienced and knowledgeable experts will be recruited competitively at the district level as coaches to provide pedagogical support in core subjects. In addition to offering training and guidance to teachers and LT, coaches will also train Head Teachers on how to perform classroom observation and provide feedback. Coaches will receive tablets with methodological guides and three yearly in-depth trainings on how to perform 82 classroom observation and identify instructional quality following the TEACH protocol and how to provide grade-specific guidance for the subject-matter of their expertise. To improve the management of the system, in addition to receiving training on management and pedagogical leadership, school principals will also receive a pre-loaded solar-powered tablet containing relevant management tools. These include the profile of the schools in relation to similar schools, data on teacher performance resulting from classroom observation tools, data on the school’s performance with regards to the performance-based school grants, teacher performance management materials, etc. District supervisors and TSC District Officers will oversee the work of coaches and ensure the effective implementation of the model. They will receive a tablet with the ASC results for each school in the district, a checklist for school support, and a dashboard with the results of classroom-observations and the intensity of use of the lesson plans, videos, etc. They will be trained on how to use the data for decision-making and provide support to all actors in the chain. Finally, seeking to strengthen pre-service training, all training materials will be shared with the TTCs in the country so that they can incorporate these modules into their student training. 43. Additional materials include the summary of the national teacher guide/national curriculum framework and guidelines for basic education.. 44. 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