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Media releases > Teachers below the poverty line
Education crisis looms in developing countries as teacher morale hits all time low
(19 December 2002)
On the eve of World Teachers Day (Oct 5) VSO reveals the self esteem of teachers around the globe is at all time low. While we're familiar with problems facing teachers in the UK, the troubles teachers face in developing countries are tenfold. A new report entitled What makes teachers tick cites record levels of demotivation amongst teachers in some of the world's poorest schools. Shockingly poor pay, lack of adequate housing and insufficient training are cited as the key reasons for dissatisfaction.
The research carried out in Zambia, Malawi and Papua New Guinea reveals teachers and head teachers living below the poverty line. Salaries are often not paid and some newly qualified teachers are waiting up to 2 years before receiving any pay. Teachers in rural schools are worst affected. Many are forced to rely on credit from local stores to support their families and have no money for basic necessities such as soap or toiletries. The report reveals teachers living in dilapidated housing often having to share with other teachers and their families. In extreme cases teachers arrive at school to find the only accommodation available is a stock cupboard or the students' sick bay.
International Policy Advisor at VSO Lucia Fry says,
The world has set itself a target that all children will be in school by 2015. There are 125 million children worldwide who do not currently go to school. VSO is dedicated to helping achieve this goal but this work is hindered if teachers don't even have enough money to live on.
Years of under-funding and churning reform have left education systems vulnerable and in disarray. Where once teachers were highly respected within the community, and viewed as bringers of progress and development their status has now radically diminished.
Crucially teachers feel their voices have been ignored for too long and this has a negative impact on their performance in the classroom. One female teacher in Papua New Guinea stated,
As a teacher I have not been consulted on anything in nine years about what teachers feel. They just do it in the top offices and send it down.
VSO will use the research to inform and influence policy-makers at a national and international level to ensure that teachers are properly supported in the drive to provide education for all.
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