Teacher career reforms in Colombia - Country note

The  organization  and  management  of  teacher  careers  have  been  central  to  Colombia’s  strategy  for  education  quality  improvement. Since  the  early  2000s,  the  country  has  experienced many education reforms that have significantly changed the teacher career structure in  terms  of  procedures  governing  entry into  the  profession,  salary  increase  modalities, and teacher evaluation. A new career structure was adopted in 2002. All new entrants to the profession have since joined under that scheme. Thus, teachers belong to one of two career models, depending on when they joined the profession.  The  single  salary  schedule  model,  which  grants  periodical  pay  rises  to  teachers  regardless  of  performance  quality,  applies  to  teachers  who  entered  the  profession  before  2002.  Teachers who joined the profession after 2002 are subject to a salary progression model based on an annual performance evaluation and  a  competence  evaluation.