Emphasising its commitment to quality education and the critical role teachers play to achieve it, Madagascar undertook the development of a new teacher policy in parallel to its Education Sector Plan (2018-2022). Reinforcing teachers, the Education Sector Plan (2018-2022) is focused on quality education and sustainable development through three main axes: i) promoting the professionalization and enhancement of teaching, ii) consolidating the education sector through alignment to international norms and standards, and iii) ensuring the quality of higher education.

The centrality of teachers is due to the need for increasing the quantity and quality of teachers in Madagascar. By 2022, an additional 20 000 teachers need to be deployed more evenly, and many more need to be trained, as only 15 and 20 per cent of primary and secondary teachers, respectively, were trained according to minimum standards in 2019 (UIS, 2020).

The teacher policy in Madagascar was developed in 2017 and validated in March 2018 by three education ministries and other relevant actors. The process was led by the National Platform for Steering the Education Sector (PNPSE), which coordinated all relevant education partners in policy development including ministries, technical and financial partners, civil society, teachers’ unions, parents and members from the private sector. The Teacher Task Force (TTF) played a critical role through its financial and technical support to policy development. The TTF also encouraged a general social dialogue process that was supported by all relevant partners. Lastly, the use of the Teacher Policy Development Guide (TPDG), developed by the TTF, was also key to the process of developing the teacher policy.

The main expected outcome for the new teacher policy is the improvement of teachers’ working conditions and to provide a motivated and qualified teacher to all students to improve quality education. Reinforcing national teacher objectives, the Education Sector Plan is also now better supported by policy on teacher training, including pre- and in-service that are based on three axes: the professionalization of training, the need to increase numbers of teachers receiving training, and the importance of developing sustainable training systems.