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Tanzania among African countries with...
2006-05-12 12:55:09
By Peter Tindwa
Tanzania is among sub-Saharan countries that face an acute shortage of teachers, according to a report prepared by United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).
The report, authored by the Institute for Statistics (UIS) says sub-Saharan Africa needs an additional 1.6 million teachers by 2015.
The report released in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, says, apart from sub-Saharan Africa, Arab states also experience acute shortages of teachers.
’The greatest challenge lies in sub-Saharan Africa, which needs to expand its teaching force by 68 per cent in the next decade,’ the report says.
It adds that countries all over the world would need to recruit 18 million teachers in the coming decade.
In general, the countries needing the most teachers have the least qualified personnel, it says.
’A lower secondary education is considered the absolute minimum qualification to teach. Yet only 45 per cent of teachers meet this standard in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo,’ it says.
Government policies should address both teachers’ quantity and quality, the report adds.
The report underscores that countries in the greatest need of teachers also face severe fiscal constraints. Many have no choice but to rely upon ’para-teachers.’
’Para-teachers possess lower qualifications than their civil servant counterparts,’ says the report.
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