'Recruiting, Retaining and Retraining Secondary School Teachers and Principals in Sub-Saharan Africa' is based on country studies in Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Madagascar, Tanzania and Uganda and an extensive literature review. In many parts of Africa, the demand for secondary teachers substantially exceeds the supply due to factors such as secondary teacher attrition, bottlenecks in the teacher preparation system, and perceived unattractive conditions of service. Few countries have strong policies, strategies, and programs for recruiting able secondary leavers to secondary teaching. The paper suggests several critical and promising areas for improvement in the quality of secondary teachers through new approaches to recruitment; pre-service and in-service teacher development; and improvements in the deployment, utilization, compensation, and conditions of service for teachers.

Much is going well with the effort to provide universal primary education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Gross enrollment rates have increased from 78 percent in 1998/99 to 91 percent in 2002/03; sizable investments have greatly improved school infrastructure and access; and large numbers of new teachers have been recruited. But educating the children in remote rural areas continues to be a challenge. Schools in hard-to-reach locations find it difficult to attract and retain teachers. Therefore, the deployment, effectiveness, management, and support of teachers in these areas require special attention and action. Such issues are thoroughly examined in this book, which also includes case studies from Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda. The country studies give rich insights into the potential and drawbacks of specific policy options. 'Teachers for Rural Schools' provides information that will be invaluable in its practicality to policy makers and practitioners responsible for educating rural populations. It will also appeal to anyone interested in Africa, development, education, public policy, and social welfare.