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International perspectives on contract teachers and their impact on meeting education for all: the cases of Cambodia, India and Nicaragua

Shortage of qualified teachers means the Education for All goal for 2015 will remain elusive

Authors: Y. Duthilleul; International Institute for Educational Planning
Publisher: UNESCO Library, 2004

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The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate currently taking place among West-African countries on the impact of contract teachers on the education system by providing them with experiences from other parts of the world.  This paper summarizes a series of background papers and case studies from developed (United Kingdom and Sweden) and developing (Cambodia, India and Nicaragua) countries.

The paper focuses on what was learned from Cambodia, India and Nicaragua regarding their experiences with contract teachers.  These countries were selected because they have very unique and different experiences in the use of contract teachers although they share some of the same concerns and constraints in terms of improving access, quality and equity.

Some of the conclusions drawn from this paper are:

  • Regardless of teachers’ status, stability is usually associated with a teaching job. 
  • Having the possibility to hire teachers for a limited period of time brings a necessary flexibility to the system to adjust to changing situations and urgent needs.   
  • There are many differences in the education requirements and terms of employment of contract teachers.  
  • Countries vary in the spread and use of contract teacher, but in general, they tend to be more used in poor, rural and remote areas.
  • Hiring local people as contract teachers may be an effective way to provide an education service in certain remote and/or ethnic minority areas.
  • Hiring teachers under different contractual arrangements can help respond to urgent needs and provide a source of employment to educated youth.
  • Contract teachers have made a significant contribution to increasing access and addressing the schooling needs of special ethnic and minority language groups. 
  • Their long term impact on the quality of the system is less clear.  For systems that continue to have an unsatisfactory quality level, the initial and continued education and support of all teachers, and not just contract teachers, requires further attention.   
  • Contract teachers require effective management and clear accountabilities.
  • Volunteer teachers can be effectively absorbed into the regular teaching body after satisfactory completion of certain educational requirements.  Attention needs to bepaid however to supporting their continued development and addressing their specific needs.
  • Teacher unions may find in the reform processes opportunities for redefining their role and image to become a key player in the improvement of education.
  • The sudden elimination of contract teachers may result in further deterioration of the quality of the system.  A careful plan that foresees the necessary resources is needed in any effort to phase them out.