The focal points of the African countries member of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 21-22 March to discuss and agree on the way they could work together to implement the 2018-2021 Strategic Plan and collaborate with the different structures composing the Teacher Task Force.

Three important points where raised during the meeting pertaining to functioning of the regional group and its contribution to the overall work of the Teacher Task Force:

• How to better communicate,
• How to mobilise resources in the region, and
• How to contribute to the work of the TTF’s thematic groups.

Reinforcing the communication

During the consultation, emphasis was made on the need for better communication between the region’s focal points.

To improve communication with teacher education stakeholders at country and regional levels, FPs noted that it would be necessary to do a map in f ail organizations working on teacher issues in their respective countries and regions, in order to facilitate direct contact with them and ensure the coordination of their activities with the Teacher Task Force’s work.

The use of digital communication tools was discussed, in particular the use of email and virtual collaborative platforms, to enable the sharing of information between national focal points of each sub regional group.

The focal points present also discussed the need for more regular meetings in order to reflect on work done and progress made in the region. They agreed on the need to organised quarterly meetings with national and regional stakeholders, either on face-to-face basis or virtually.

Mobilising resources

When it comes to funding, it was recommended to avoid duplication of work and commitment and the creation of additional layers, but to seek donors already present at country level and identify actors interested in teacher issues.

As far as technical expertise, focal points are encouraged to use the help of UNESCO and its regional office in identifying the expertise required for a particular activity. A mapping of the expertise available in the sub regional groups was also discussed and encouraged.

Political support: focal points are the primary link between local authorities and the Teacher Task Force. To ensure full support of national ministries of education, regular reporting by focal points on TTF events and activities is advised. Focal points can also mobilize support at national level by ensuring linkages between TTF activities and national plans.

Contributing to research

The main goals of the Teacher Task Force are to raise awareness and produce knowledge on teacher issues. Four groups with each a particular thematic focus were created to this end. The African Regional group reiterated its interest in collaborating with identified ongoing research projects, by sharing local level research and best practices that could feed into the thematic groups planned activities.

The creation of instruments designed to collect and provide information on the thematic areas was discussed as well as the ways the reporting could be done.

Following this first meeting, consultations will be organised in the Arab States on 17-19 June 2019 and in the Latin America and Caribbean region on 17-19 July 2019.

Following the recommendations of the its Annual Meeting, held in November 2018 in Montego Bay, Jamaica, the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 is convening the first meeting of the African regional focal points.

Hosted by the UNESCO Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), on 21-22 March 2019, the meeting seeks to reinforce the Teacher Task Force members and focal points’ engagement in the implementation of the Task Force 2018-2021 Strategic Plan through the consolidation of the Regional Group.

This meeting will be the occasion to reinforce synergies within the regional group and promote a stronger collaboration and cooperation with the African Union, especially regarding the alignment of the Teacher Task Force 2018-2021 Strategic Plan and the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA), which Strategic Objective 1 is on Teacher Development.

It will also provide the focal points with a chance to learn more about the vision and objectives of the continental umbrella framework and the existing political, institutional and technical mechanisms to tap into for a coherent implementation of the Teacher Task Force 2018-2021 Strategic Plan in Africa.

Following the adoption of the Education 2030 agenda, putting teachers at the centre of the right to quality education, the Government of Togo set out to develop a comprehensive national teacher policy. The International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 is called upon to support countries requesting technical assistance on teachers and teaching. It is in this context that the Teacher Task Force responded to Togo’s demand for technical assistance in developing their national teacher policy, through the use of the Teacher Policy Development Guide.

Why was a policy needed?

According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the population of primary school age children was 1 180 321 in 2015 but the number of teachers in primary education was only 33 900. Out of this number, only 32.6% of primary education teachers were qualified according to national standards and the pupil-teacher ratio was 41 to 1 for this level. Togo had resorted to the use of “contract teachers” in the 90’s and is now aiming to endow its educational system with a stronger teaching force.

Development process

In order to facilitate the implementation and achievement of equitable access to a quality education, Togo developed a national teacher policy encompassing all levels of and facets of the teaching profession. This policy was developed concurrently with the revision of Togo’s Education Sector plan with the objective of integrating it into the revised sector plan.

Togo’s national teacher policy aims to propose measures to improve teachers’ working conditions and motivation.

A national multisectorial technical team was put in place involving the different education stakeholders in the country: ministries representatives, parents’ associations’ representatives as well as teacher unions’ representatives and representatives from the education sector. The technical team was placed under the overall authority of a ministerial committee. Their task was to develop the national teacher policy following the approach proposed by the Task Force’ Teacher Policy Development Guide.

Togo’s national teacher policy was built around three main lines: teachers’ efficiency, motivation and professionalization. Each main line covers a set of the dimensions described in the Teacher Policy development Guide. During its development, the national technical team decided to add a tenth dimension on the participation of teachers to social dialogue.

The concept of efficiency as defined in Togo’s teacher policy is linked to teachers’ competencies and performance. More particularly, it deals with professional standards, qualification frameworks as well as recruitment, deployment and retention strategies.

Regarding motivation, the focus is on defining structured career pathways, improving teachers’ working conditions, defining remuneration standards in line with the remuneration of professions of equal qualifications and responsibilities in the country, and increasing school governance role in monitoring and following up teachers’ good performance.

In terms of professionalization, the policy looks at teachers’ accountability through performance: self-evaluation,peer evaluation and evaluation of learning outcomes It also elaborates proposals to improve teachers’ representation and participation in social dialogue.

What’s next?

National authorities will review the policy document produced by the technical team for formal adoption. The most important phase will be the implementation of the national teacher policy. Continuous engagement with stakeholders, adequate mobilization of financial resources, the creation of the implementation and monitoring structures and reliance on accurate and reliable qualitative and quantitative data on teachers will help Togo in its efforts to achieve national educational goals and the SDG 4 Teacher target. The Teacher Task Force will remain a key partner in this process.

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