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Efforts should bemade tomake teaching an employment of choice. Stakeholders in case study
countries frequently equated problems of education quality with gaps in resources and physical
inputs. However, the majority agree that teachers are the most important factor affecting
learning in schools and yet are in short supply in many OIC countries. Evidence indicates that
the level of competencies and knowledge among teachers remain low in OIC member countries,
particularly in schools serving the most excluded and poorest. Teachers also lack the ability to
transfer their own knowledge effectively to their pupils. At the same time, filling this gap in the
supply of qualified teachers is not sufficient to raise quality. More critical is the issue of
motivation and integrity among teachers. In high performing countries such as Singapore and
South Korea, many top graduate students aspire to enter the teaching profession. This is not the
case in most OIC countries. Teacher pay is particularly poor, and often irregular, in government
schools in Nigeria and Pakistan. Attracting best candidates to teaching remains a major
challenge.
Accountability in the education sector needs to be improved. The lack of accountability is a
key reason for the poor returns to public spending in education in OIC countries. This also
disproportionately affects children in poor countries and communities. While any single actor is
not responsible, accountability starts with government. Accounting for system-wide problems
such as teacher absenteeism in government schools in the primary and secondary sector is
critical. Accountability measures are lacking at various levels of the education system. Teacher
truancy is a significant challenge in OIC countries. Stakeholders interviewed in Nigeria, Malaysia
and Jordan all worried about the lack of teacher motivation. Available options to improve
accountability include contract-based appointment or the introduction of performance
incentives. Other measures include dissemination of information on performance of the school,
greater involvement of different stakeholders in educational management and the use
technology for real time reporting, deepening democratic processes and holding decision
makers to account for service delivery in geographically remote locations. A notable example is
the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), the IT-arm of the Government of Punjab,
Pakistan. The tablet-PC and smart-phone based systems of PITB leverage mobile technologies
and open-source platforms to design terrain-viable solutions for real-time monitoring, on-spot
assessment, and citizen feedback.
Re-orient curricula and teacher training programs. The exclusive focus on school enrolment
and completion during the MDGs era has undermined progress in terms of improvements in
learning outcomes. The curricula and teacher training programs did not prioritize basic
competencies – students transited to higher grades without acquiring basic competencies. In
some instances, this involved reliance on over-ambitious school curriculum. While school
enrolment increased significantly, learning outcomes did not improve. Reforms therefore
should focus on making the learning process child friendly; teachers also need to develop
attributes of nurturing and care. Evidence indicates that pedagogical interventions that align
teaching to student learning levels are effective at improving student performance. Curricula
reforms and teacher training therefore should focus on the student’s understanding of the
subjects and promote analysis instead of rewarding memorization. Child centered pedagogies
integral to pre and in-service programs need to translate into active practice. New research is
also required in OIC countries on changing the conventional mode of teaching-- to teach at the
level of the student instead of relying on a fixed curriculum for all.
Adoption of new models, particularly ICT, must be informed by evidence and carefully
designed pilot studies. Most of the stakeholders interviewed agreed the useful of borrowing
models of teaching and learning that worked in other countries. SDG target 4.C also refers to the