Teacher Compensation Initiative

INEE Guidance Notes on Teacher Compensation in Fragile States, Situations of Displacement and Post-Crisis Recovery

Initiative Advisory Group: INEE, International Rescue Committee, International Save the Children Alliance, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNICEF, Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children

What are the INEE Guidance Notes on Teacher Compensation?

Developed in a widely consultative manner under the leadership of an interagency advisory group (INEE Secretariat, International Rescue Committee, Save the Children Alliance, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNICEF, Women’s Refugee Commission), these Guidance Notes address a critical challenge to quality education by providing a framework for discussing the complex issues surrounding the compensation of teachers based on lessons learnt from practice around the world. The Guidance Notes are organised around and provide guidance on the following three themes:

• Policy and Coordination of Teacher Compensation
• Management and Financial Aspects of Teacher Compensation
• Teachers’ Motivation, Support and Supervision as Forms of Non-Monetary Teacher Compensation

Why are the INEE Guidance Notes on Teacher Compensation important?

Along with structures, supplies, curricula and furniture, appropriately qualified teachers are critical for the provision of quality, protective education. However, in fragile contexts, situations of displacement and post-crisis recovery, teachers are often underpaid or not paid at all. Until now, there has been no collaborative effort to map the challenges and provide guidance to policy makers and practitioners grappling with the issue of teacher remuneration and support in these contexts. This has led to inconsistencies in the eligibility for, amount and frequency of teacher salaries, stipends or non-monetary support among and within government ministries, NGOs and UN agencies. In the long-term, these insufficiencies and inconsistencies can lead to a brain drain from the teaching force thus weakening education systems. Non-payment of salaries can also contribute to social unrest, and to situations in which children are not able to learn and are vulnerable to exploitation.

Who should use the INEE Guidance Notes on Teacher Compensation?

• Education authorities at national, county and district levels
• United Nations agencies
• Bi- and multilateral donor agencies
• Education consultants
• NGOs and community-based organisations
• Teachers and teachers unions
• Education sector groups and/or clusters

The INEE Secretariat has developed a number of users guides for:

• Teachers and Teacher Organisations
• Ministries of Education
• Donor Agencies
• UN Agencies and NGOs

These User’s Guides explain why the INEE Guidance Notes are relevant for each of these actors and how they can be utilized; it also shares relevant lessons learnt for those preparing to use this tool. These tools will support INEE member and partner discussion and action on teacher support and compensation issues, including when specifically introducing the INEE Guidance Notes on Teacher Compensation to a new audience.

INEE has also developed a Power Point presentation which may be used to introduce the Guidance Notes to different audiences.  Download the presentation here.

How should the INEE Guidance Notes on Teacher Compensation be used?

These Guidance Notes can be used to:

• Guide inter-agency discussion and inform collaborative advocacy on issues related to teacher compensation and support
• Assess and analyse current challenges to and strategies for improving teacher compensation and support policies and programmes
• Inform the design of and monitor and evaluate teacher compensation and support policies and programmes, including through their use in training and capacity building workshops

Users of the Guidance Notes have shared the following lessons learnt for others planning to use them:

• Where possible, introduction, dissemination and use of the Guidance Notes should be done in an inter-agency setting, such as an education sector coordination meeting or an education cluster meeting
• Plan for ample time to discuss context-specific issues and the implications for how the good practices within the INEE Guidance Notes are applied

How can I give feedback to improve the INEE Guidance Notes on Teacher Compensation?

INEE requests feedback on the relevance and applicability of these Guidance Notes in order to inform a future update. Download the User Guide and Feedback Form here

Development of the INEE Guidance Notes on Teacher Compensation

Piloting the INEE Guidance Notes on Teacher Compensation

The Guidance Notes were launched for piloting in September 2008, and all actors were invited to use the INEE Guidance Notes within their context and provide feedback. The piloting stage of the INEE Guidance Notes encompassed not only using them but also giving feedback on their relevance and applicability in order to inform the final printed version. Feedback was collected on 1 February 2009 and the Guidance Notes were reviewed once more before they were launched in printed form at the INEE Global Consultation, 31 March – 2 April 2009, in Istanbul, Turkey.

It is critical that discussions on teacher compensation be carried out in consultation with a wide variety of partners from the government as well as the humanitarian, education and development communities, including representatives from UN agencies and NGOs, donors, teachers unions and community education committees. Effective piloting of the INEE Guidance Notes on Teacher Compensation therefore required working with multiple actors at education sector meetings, such as IASC Education Cluster meetings and education sector coordination and planning meetings, in order to introduce, disseminate and utilize them in a collaborative manner. Given the differences in teacher compensation issues and in potential solutions in different contexts, it was expected that there would be discussions about how to contextualize the guidelines in order to address context-specific issues in the piloting process.

Guidance Notes on Teacher Compensation: The Process

Click Here to Download the INEE Teacher Compensation Flyer (English)

To address the challenges of teacher compensation in fragile states, situations of displacement and post-conflict recovery, the International Rescue Committee, International Save the Children Alliance and Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, on behalf of the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE), organized a roundtable seminar on teacher compensation on 11 October 2006. The Roundtable on Teacher Compensation in Fragile States, Situations of Displacement and Post-Conflict Return brought diverse stakeholders together to discuss the challenges of adequately compensating teachers in various settings, share good practices and lessons learned, and identify a common vision and agenda for future work in this area.

The roundtable culminated in a set of findings and recommendations, which highlighted the need for more research on existing experiences and good practices on teacher compensation as well as the need to develop a clear set of guidance notes in a collaborative manner.

Therefore, in 2007-2008, INEE, IRC, Save the Children, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNICEF and the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children led an initiative to build upon the 2006 roundtable findings to develop a set of Guidance Notes for compensating teachers in fragile states, refugee, IDP and returnee contexts.

INEE members contributed case studies that informed and enhanced the good practices and lessons learned codified within the Guidance Notes. Once drafted, the Guidance Notes were shared with a group of Resource Experts and refined through their input as well as through a series of Consultative Workshops that culled diverse experiences and expertise from across the globe in the Spring of 2008.

Consultative Workshops

A series of Consultative Workshops were held across the globe for the spring of 2008, which brought together a diverse group of stakeholders and partners to obtain feedback on the draft set of Guidance Notes.

Niamey, Niger. March 7, 2008. Hosted by UNICEF.
New York City, USA. March 19, 2008. Hosted by Teachers College at Columbia University.
Istanbul, Turkey, April 16, 2008. Hosted by INEE.
Washington, DC, May 6, 2008. Hosted by the World Bank.
Paris, France. June 16, 2008. Hosted by UNESCO-
London, UK. July 11, 2008. Hosted by ActionAid and Save the Children.

Click here to see a list of individuals and organisations that have supported the development of the INEE Teacher Compensation Guidance Notes.

To learn more about what outcomes arose from this process, and how you and your organisation can participate in or host upcoming Consultative Workshops, please stay tuned to the INEE website and listserv and become an INEE member.