Policies

Performance-Based Incentives for Teachers

Context and Issue

Guinea is a low-income country that faces challenges of low primary school enrollment and subpar learning outcomes despite a substantial 40 percent increase in teacher numbers in recent years. To address this, the government seeks innovative strategies to improve teaching effectiveness and learning. This assessment, conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Pre-University and Civic Education, furnishes policymakers with insights into potentially impactful programs for enhancing student academic performance.

Solution

Teachers could qualify for material rewards, such as bags of rice and cell phones, or public recognition through certificates and ceremonies if they and their students met certain standards. The standards were based on the quality of lesson delivery and students’ standardized test scores.

Impact 

Looking into the policy-level impact, the government of Guinea is looking for cost-efficient ways to improve learning in the face of poor student academic performance and attendance. Because parts of the evaluation, such as data collection, were carried out by the ministry, government officials honed skills they can use for future evaluations.

Analysis

Understanding the complexities with regard to the context of community within society is vital for the effectiveness of this solution. In the case of this solution there might be a priority of the teachers to get cash instead of other incentives