Are Teachers in Africa Poorly Paid? Evidence from 15 Countries
Pay levels for public sector workers—and especially teachers—are a constant source of controversy. In many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, protests and strikes suggest that pay is low, while simple comparisons to average national income per capita...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/193701597168506256/Are-Teachers-in-Africa-Poorly-Paid-Evidence-from-15-Countries http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34355 |
| Summary: | Pay levels for public sector workers—and
especially teachers—are a constant source of controversy. In
many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, protests and strikes
suggest that pay is low, while simple comparisons to average
national income per capita suggest that it is high. This
study presents data on teacher pay from 15 African
countries, along with five comparator countries from other
regions. The results suggest that in several (seven)
countries, teachers' monthly salaries are lower than
other formal sector workers with comparable levels of
education and experience. However, in all of those
countries, teachers report working significantly fewer hours
than other workers, so that their hourly wage is higher.
Teachers who report fewer hours are no more likely to report
holding a second job, although teachers overall are nearly
two times more likely to hold a second job than other
workers. With higher national incomes, the absolute value of
teacher salaries rises, but they fall as a percentage of
income per capita. The study explores variation across types
of teacher contracts, the association between teacher pay
and student performance, and the association between teacher
pay premia and other aspects of economies. |
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