3.1.7 Teacher recruitment in fragile states and emergency situations

INEE has suggested that the objective in emergency situations should be: “A sufficient number of appropriately qualified teachers and other education personnel are recruited through a participatory and transparent process, based on selection criteria reflecting diversity and equity.” Guidance notes to realize this objective recommend the following:

• Job descriptions: These are equitable and non-discriminatory, and include roles and responsibilities, clear reporting lines and a code of conduct
• Experience and qualifications: Teachers are qualified and have appropriate credentials and skills to provide psychosocial support to learners and teach learners with disabilities. Where possible, teachers should speak the learners’ mother tongue. Where candidates no longer have their certificates and professional documentation due to the emergency, their teaching skills should be assessed.
• Selection criteria: These should include academic background, teaching experience, including teaching children with disabilities, sensitivity to psychosocial needs of learners, trade or other technical skills, relevant language ability.
• Diversity criteria: these should reflect those of the community, taking into account underlying social tensions and longstanding inequalities which may have an effect on the recruitment process.
• Other qualifications: teachers should be able to interact with and be accepted by the community; where possible they should be selected primarily from the affected community because of their understanding of the social, economic and political context.
• References: where possible, these should be checked to ensure learners are not put at risk.
• Class size: sufficient teachers should be recruited to set locally defined, realistic limits on class size.