Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers
- UNESCO
5 October 1966
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The Special Intergovernmental Conference on the Status of Teachers,
Recalling that the right to education is a fundamental human right,
Conscious of the responsibility of the States for the provision of
proper education for all in fulfilment of Article 26 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of Principles 5, 7 and 10 of
the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and of the United Nations
Declaration concerning the Promotion among Youth of the Ideals of
Peace, Mutual Respect and Understanding between Peoples,
Aware of the need for more extensive and widespread general and
technical and vocational education, with a view to making full use
of all the talent and intelligence available as an essential
contribution to continued moral and cultural progress and economic
and social advancement,
Recognizing the essential role of teachers in educational
advancement and the importance of their contribution to the
development of man and modern society,
Concerned to ensure that teachers enjoy the status commensurate with
this role,
Taking into account the great diversity of the laws, regulations and
customs which, in different countries, determine the patterns and
organization of education,
Taking also into account the diversity of the arrangements which in
different countries apply to teaching staff, in particular according
to whether the regulations concerning the public service apply to
them,
Convinced that in spite of these differences similar questions arise
in all countries with regard to the status of teachers and that
these questions call for the application of a set of common
standards and measures, which it is the purpose of this
Recommendation to set out,
Noting the terms of existing international conventions which are
applicable to teachers, and in particular of instruments concerned
with basic human rights such as the Freedom of Association and
Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948, the Right to
Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949, the Equal
Remuneration Convention, 1951, and the Discrimination (Employment
and Occupation) Convention, 1958, adopted by the General Conference
of the International Labour Organization, and the Convention against
Discrimination in Education, 1960, adopted by the General Conference
of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization,
Noting also the recommendations on various aspects of the
preparation and the status of teachers in primary and secondary
schools adopted by the International Conference on Public Education
convened jointly by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization and the International Bureau of Education, and
the Recommendation concerning Technical and Vocational Education,
1962, adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,
Desiring to supplement existing standards by provisions relating to
problems of peculiar concern to teachers and to remedy the problems
of teacher shortage,
Has adopted this Recommendation:
I. Definitions
1. For the purpose of the Recommendation:
(a) the word `teacher' covers all those persons in schools who are
responsible for the education of pupils;
(b) the expression `status' as used in relation to teachers means
both the standing or regard accorded them, as evidenced by the level
of appreciation of the importance of their function and of their
competence in performing it, and the working conditions,
remuneration and other material benefits accorded them relative to
other professional groups.
II. Scope
2. This Recommendation applies to all teachers in both public and
private schools up to the completion of the secondary stage of
education, whether nursery, kindergarten, primary, intermediate or
secondary, including those providing technical, vocational, or art
education.
III. Guiding principles
3. Education from the earliest school years should be directed to
the allround development of the human personality and to the
spiritual, moral, social, cultural and economic progress of the
community, as well as to the inculcation of deep respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms; within the framework of these
values the utmost importance should be attached to the contribution
to be made by education to peace and to understanding, tolerance and
friendship among all nations and among racial or religious groups.
4. It should be recognized that advance in education depends largely
on the qualifications and ability of the teaching staff in general
and on the human, pedagogical and technical qualities of the
individual teachers.
5. The status of teachers should be commensurate with the needs of
education as assessed in the light of educational aims and
objectives; it should be recognized that the proper status of
teachers and due public regard for the profession of teaching are of
major importance for the full realization of these aims and
objectives.
6. Teaching should be regarded as a profession: it is a form of
public service which requires of teachers expert knowledge and
specialized skills, acquired and maintained through rigorous and
continuing study; it calls also for a sense of personal and
corporate responsibility for the education and welfare of the pupils
in their charge.
7. All aspects of the preparation and employment of teachers should
be free from any form of discrimination on grounds of race, colour,
sex, religion, political opinion, national or social origin, or
economic condition.
8. Working conditions for teachers should be such as will best
promote effective learning and enable teachers to concentrate on
their professional tasks.
9. Teachers' organizations should be recognized as a force which can
contribute greatly to educational advance and which therefore should
be associated with the determination of educational policy.
IV. Educational objectives and policies
10. Appropriate measures should be taken in each country to the
extent necessary to formulate comprehensive educational policies
consistent with the Guiding Principles, drawing on all available
resources, human and otherwise. In so doing, the competent
authorities should take account of the consequences for teachers of
the following principles and objectives:
(a) it is the fundamental right of every child to. be provided with
the fullest possible educational opportunities; due attention should
be paid to children requiring special educational treatment;
(b) all facilities should be made available equally to enable every
person to enjoy his right to education without discrimination on
grounds of sex, race, colour, religion, political opinion, national
or social origin, or economic condition;
(c) since education is a service of fundamental importance in the
general public interest, it should be recognized as a responsibility
of the State, which should provide an adequate network of schools,
free education in these schools and material assistance to needy
pupils; this should not be construed so as to interfere with the
liberty of the parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to
choose for their children schools other than those established by
the State, or so as to interfere with the liberty of individuals and
bodies to establish and direct educational institutions which
conform to such minimum educational standards as may be laid down or
approved by the State;
(d) since education is an essential factor in economic growth,
educational planning should form an integral part of total economic
and social planning undertaken to improve living conditions;
(e) since education is a continuous process the various branches of
the teaching service should be so co-ordinated as both to improve
the quality of education for all pupils and to enhance the status of
teachers ;
(f) there should be free access to a flexible system of schools,
properly interrelated, so that nothing restricts the opportunities
for each child to progress to any level in any type of education;
(g) as an educational objective, no State should be satisfied with
mere quantity, but should seek also to improve quality;
(h) in education both long-term and short-term planning and
programming are necessary; the efficient integration in the
community of today's pupils will depend more on future needs than on
present requirements;
(i) all educational planning should include at each stage early
provision for the training, and the further training, of sufficient
numbers of fully competent and qualified teachers of the country
concerned who are familiar with the life of their people and able to
teach in the mother tongue;
(j) co-ordinated systematic and continuing research and action in
the field of teacher preparation and in-service training are
essential, including, at the international level, co-operative
projects and the exchange of research findings ;
(k) there should be close co-operation between the competent
authorities, organizations of teachers, of employers and workers,
and of parents as well as cultural organizations and institutions of
learning and research, for the purpose of defining educational
policy and its precise objectives;
(l) as the achievement of the aims and objectives of education
largely depends on the financial means made available to it, high
priority should be given, in all countries, to setting aside, within
the national budgets, an adequate proportion of the national income
for the development of education.
V. Preparation for the profession
Selection
11. Policy governing entry into preparation for teaching should rest
on the need to provide society with an adequate supply of teachers
who possess the necessary moral, intellectual and physical qualities
and who have the required professional knowledge and skills.
12. To met this need, educational authorities should provide
adequate inducements to prepare for teaching and sufficient places
in appropriate institutions.
13. Completion of an approved course in an appropriate
teacher-preparation institution should be required of all persons
entering the profession.
14. Admission to teacher preparation should be based on the
completion of appropriate secondary education, and the evidence of
the possession of personal qualities likely to help the persons
concerned to become worthy members of the profession.
15. While the general standards for admission to teacher preparation
should be maintained, persons who may lack some of the formal
academic requirements for admission, but who possess valuable
experience, particularly in technical and vocational fields, may be
admitted.
16. Adequate grants or financial assistance should be available to
students preparing for teaching to enable them to follow the courses
provided and to live decently; as far as possible, the competent
authorities should seek to establish a system of free
teacher-preparation institutions.
17. Information concerning the opportunities and the grants or
financial assistance for teacher preparation should be readily
available to students and other persons who may wish to prepare for
teaching.
18. (1) Fair consideration should be given to the value of
teacher-preparation programmes completed in other countries as
establishing in whole or in part the right to practice teaching.
(2) Steps should be taken with a view to achieving international
recognition of teaching credentials conferring professional status
in terms of standards agreed to internationally.
Teacher preparation programmes
19. The purpose of a teacher-preparation programme should be to
develop in each student his general education and personal culture,
his ability to teach and educate others, an awareness of the
principles which underlie good human relations, within and across
national boundaries, and a sense of responsibility to contribute
both by teaching and by example to social, cultural and economic
progress.
20. Fundamentally a teacher-preparation programme should include:
(a) general studies;
(b) study of the main elements of philosophy, psychology, sociology
as applied to education, the theory and history of education, and of
comparative education, experimental pedagogy, school administration
and methods of teaching the various subjects;
(c) studies related to the student's intended field of teaching;
(d) practice in teaching and in conducting extra-curricular
activities under the guidance of fully qualified teachers.
21. (1) All teachers should be prepared in general, special and
pedagogical subjects in universities, or in institutions on a level
comparable to universities, or else in special institutions for the
preparation of teachers.
(2) The content of teacher-preparation programmes may reasonably
vary according to the tasks the teachers are required to perform in
different-types of schools, such as establishments for handicapped
children or technical and vocational schools. In the latter case,
the programmes might include some practical experience to be
acquired in industry, commerce or agriculture.
22. A teacher-preparation programme may provide for a professional
course either concurrently with or subsequent to a course of
personal academic or specialized education or skill cultivation.
23. Education for teaching should normally be full-time; special
arrangements may be made for older entrants to the profession and
persons in other exceptional categories to undertake all or part of
their course on a part-time basis, on condition that the content of
such courses and the standards of attainment are on the same level
as -those of the full-time courses.
24. Consideration should be given to the desirability of providing
for the education of different types of teachers, whether primary,
secondary, technical, specialist or vocational teachers, in
institutions organically related or geographically adjacent to one
another.
Teacher preparation institutions
25. The staff of teacher-preparation institutions should be
qualified to teach in their own discipline at a level equivalent to
that of higher education. The staff teaching pedagogical subjects
should have had experience of teaching in schools and wherever
possible should have this experience periodically refreshed freshed
by secondment to teaching duties in schools.
26. Research and experimentation in education and in the teaching of
particular subjects should be promoted through the’ provision of
research facilities in teacher-preparation institutions and research
work by their staff and students. All staff concerned with teacher
education' should be aware of the findings of research in the field
with which they are concerned and endeavour to pass on its results
to students.
27. Students as well as staff should have the opportunity of
expressing their views on the arrangements governing the life, work
and discipline of a teacher-preparation institution.
28. Teacher-preparation institutions should form a focus of
development in the education service, both keeping schools abreast
of the results of research and methodological progress, and
reflecting in their own work the experience of schools and teachers.
29. The teacher-preparation institutions should, either severally or
jointly, and in collaboration with another institution of higher
education or with the competent education authorities, or not, be
responsible for certifying that the student has satisfactorily
completed the course.
30. School authorities, in co-operation with teacher-preparation
institutions, should take appropriate measures to provide the
newly-trained teachers with an employment in keeping with their
preparation, and individual wishes and circumstances.
VI. Further education for teachers
31. Authorities and teachers should recognize the importance of
in-service education designed to secure a systematic improvement of
the quality and content of education and of teaching techniques.
32. Authorities, in consultation with teachers' organizations,
should promote the establishment of a wide system of in-service
education, available free to all teachers. Such a system should
provide a variety of arrangements and should involve the
participation of teacher-preparation institutions, scientific and
cultural institutions, and teachers' organizations. Refresher
courses should be provided, especially for teachers returning to
teaching after a break in service.
33. (1) Courses and other appropriate facilities should be so
designed as to enable teachers to improve their qualifications, to
alter or enlarge the scope of their work or seek promotion and to
keep up to date with their subject and field of education as regards
both content and method.
(2) Measures should be taken to make books and other material
available to teachers to improve their general education and
professional qualifications.
34. Teachers should be given both the opportunities and the
incentives to participate in courses and facilities and should take
full advantage of them.
35. School authorities should make every endeavour to ensure that
schools can apply relevant research findings both in the subjects of
study and in teaching methods.
36. Authorities should encourage and, as far as possible, assist
teachers to travel in their own country and abroad, either in groups
or individually, with a view to their further education.
37. It would be desirable that measures taken for the preparation
and further education of teachers should be developed and
supplemented by financial and technical co-operation on an
international or regional basis.
VII. Employment and career
Entry into the teaching profession
38. In collaboration with teachers'organizations, policy governing
recruitment into employment should be clearly defined at the
appropriate level and rules should be established laying down the
teachers'obligations and rights.
39. A probationary period on entry to teaching should be recognized
both by teachers and by employers as the opportunity for the
encouragement and helpful initiation of the entrant and for the
establishment and maintenance of proper professional standards as
well as the teacher's own development of his practical teaching
proficiency. The normal duration of probation should be known in
advance and the conditions for its satisfactory completion should be
strictly related to professional competence. If the teacher is
failing to complete his probation satisfactorily, he should be
informed of the reasons and should have the right to make
representations.
Advancement and promotion
40. Teachers should be able, subject to their having the necessary
qualifications, to move from one type or level of school to another
within the education service.
41. The organization and structure of an education service,
including that of individual schools, should provide adequate
opportunities for and recognition of additional responsibilities to
be exercised by individual teachers, on condition that those
responsibilities are not detrimental to the quality or regularity of
their teaching work.
42. Consideration should be given to the advantages of schools
sufficiently large for pupils to have the benefits and staff the
opportunities to be derived from a range of responsibilities being
carried by different teachers.
43. Posts of responsibility in education, such as that of inspector,
educational administrator, director of education or other posts of
special responsibility, should be given as far as possible to
experienced teachers.
44. Promotion should be based on an objective assessment of the
teacher's qualifications for the new post, by reference to strictly
professional criteria laid down in consultation with teachers'
organizations.
Security of tenure
45. Stability of employment and security of tenure in the profession
are essential in the interests of education as well as in that of
the teacher and should be safeguarded even when changes in the
organization of or within a school system are made.
46. Teachers should be adequately protected against arbitrary action
affecting their professional standing or career.
Disciplinary procedures related to breaches of professional conduct
47. Disciplinary measures applicable to teachers guilty of breaches
of professional conduct should be clearly defined. The proceedings
and any resulting action should only be made public if the teacher
so requests, except where prohibition from teaching is involved or
the protection or well-being of the pupils so requires.
48. The authorities or bodies competent to propose-or apply
sanctions and penalties should be clearly designated.
49. Teachers' organizations should be consulted when the machinery
to deal with disciplinary matters is established.
50. Every teacher should enjoy equitable safeguards at each stage of
any dis-ciplinary procedure, and in particular:
(a) the right to be informed in writing of the allegations and the
grounds for, them ;
(b) the right to full access to the evidence in the case;
(c) the right to defend himself and to be defended by a
representative of his
choice, adequate time being given to the teacher for the preparation
of his defense;
(d) the right to be informed in writing of the decisions reached and
the reasons for them;
(e) the right to appeal to clearly designated competent authorities
or bodies.
51. Authorities should recognize that effectiveness of disciplinary
safeguards as well as discipline itself would be greatly enhanced if
the teachers were judged with the participation of their peers.
52. The provisions of the foregoing paragraphs 47-51 do not in any
way affect the procedures normally applicable under national laws or
regulations to acts punishable under criminal laws.
Medical examinations
53. Teachers should be required to undergo periodical medical
examinations, which should be provided free.
Women teachers with family responsibilities
54. Marriage should not be considered a bar to the appointment or to
the continued employment of women teachers, nor should it affect
remuneration or other conditions of work.
55. Employers should be prohibited from terminating contracts of
service for reasons of pregnancy and maternity leave.
56. Arrangements such as creches or nurseries should be considered
where desirable to take care of the children of teachers with family
responsibilities.
57. Measures should be taken to permit women teachers with family
respon-sibilities to obtain teaching posts in the locality of their
homes and to enable married couples,- both of whom are teachers, to
teach in the same general neighborhood or in one and the same
school.
58. In appropriate circumstances women teachers with family
responsibilities who have left the profession before retirement age
should be encouraged to return to teaching.
Part-time service
59. Authorities and schools should recognize the value of part-time
service given, in case of need, by qualified teachers who for some
reason cannot give full-time service.
60. Teachers employed regularly on a part-time basis should:
(a) receive proportionately the same remuneration and enjoy the same
basic conditions of employment as teachers employed on a full-time
basis;
(b) be granted rights corresponding to those of teachers employed on
a full time basis as regards holidays with pay, sick leave and
maternity leave, subject to the same eligibility requirements; and
(c) be entitled to adequate and appropriate social security
protection, including coverage under employers' pension schemes.
VIII. The rights and responsibilities of teachers
Professional freedom
61. The teaching profession should enjoy academic freedom in the
discharge of professional duties. Since teachers are particularly
qualified to judge the teaching aids and methods most suitable for
their pupils, they should be given the essential role in the choice
and the adaptation of teaching material, the selection of textbooks
and the application of teaching methods, within the framework of
approved programmes, and with the assistance of the educational
authorities.
62. Teachers and their organizations should participate in the
development of new courses, textbooks and teaching aids
63. Any systems of inspection or supervision should be designed to
encourage and help teachers in the performance of their professional
tasks and should be such as not to diminish the freedom, initiative
and responsibility of teachers.
64. (1) Where any kind of direct assessment of the teacher's work is
required, such assessment should be objective and should be made
known to the teacher.
(2) Teachers should have a right to appeal against assessments which
they deem to be unjustified.
65. Teachers should be free to make use of such evaluation
techniques as they _may deem useful for the appraisal of pupils'
progress, but should ensure that no unfairness to individual pupils
results.
66. The authorities should give due weight to the recommendations of
teachers regarding the suitability of individual pupils for courses
and further education of different kinds.
67. Every possible effort should be made to promote close
co-operation between teachers and parents in the interests of
pupils, but teachers should be protected against unfair or
unwarranted interference by parents in matters which are essentially
the teacher's professional responsibility.
68. (1) Parents having a complaint against a school or a teacher
should be given the opportunity of discussing it in the first
instance with the school principal and the teacher concerned. Any
complaint subsequently addressed to higher authority should be put
in writing and a copy should be supplied to the teacher.
(2) Investigations of complaints should be so conducted that the
teachers are given a fair opportunity to defend themselves and that
no publicity is given to the proceedings.
69. While teachers should exercise the utmost care to avoid
accidents to pupils, employers of teachers should safeguard them
against the risk of having damages assessed against them in the
event of injury to pupils occurring at school or in school
activities away from the school premises or grounds.
Responsibilities of teachers
70. Recognizing that the status of their profession depends to a
considerable extent upon teachers themselves, all teachers should
seek to achieve the highest possible standards in all their
professional work.
71. Professional standards relating to teacher performance should be
defined and maintained with the participation of the teachers'
organizations.
72. Teachers and teachers' organizations should seek to co-operate
fully with authorities in the interests of the pupils, of the
education service and of society generally.
73. Codes of ethics or of conduct should be established by the
teachers' organizations, since such codes greatly contribute to
ensuring the prestige of the profession and the exercise of
professional duties in accordance with agreed principles.
74. Teachers should be prepared to take their part in
extra-curricular activities for the benefit of pupils and adults.
Relations between teachers and the education service as a whole
75. In order that teachers may discharge their responsibilities,
authorities should establish and regularly use recognized means of
consultation with teachers' organizations on such matters as
educational policy, school organization, and new developments in the
education service.
76. Authorities and teachers should recognize the importance of the
participation of teachers, through their organizations and in other
ways, in steps designed to improve the quality of the education
service, in educational research, and in the development and
dissemination of new improved methods.
77. Authorities should facilitate the establishment and the work of
panels designed, within a school or within a broader framework, to
promote the co-operation of teachers of the same subject and' should
take due account of the opinions and suggestions of such panels.
78. Administrative and other staff who are responsible for aspects
of the education service should seek to establish good relations
with teachers and this approach should be equally reciprocated.
Rights of teachers
79. The participation of teachers in social and public life should
be encouraged in the interests of the teacher's personal
development, of the education service and of society as a whole.
80. Teachers should be free to exercise all civic rights generally
enjoyed by citizens and should be eligible for public office.
81. Where the requirements of public office are such that the
teacher has to relinquish his teaching duties, he should be retained
in the profession for seniority and pension purposes and should be
able to return to his previous post or to an equivalent post after
his term of public 'office has expired.
82. Both salaries and working conditions for teachers should be
determined through the process of negotiation between teachers'
organizations and the employers of teachers.
83. Statutory or voluntary machinery should be established whereby
the right of teachers to negotiate through their organizations with
their employers, either public or private, is assured..
84. Appropriate joint machinery should be set up to deal with the
settlement of disputes between the teachers and their employers
arising out of terms and conditions of employment. If the means and
procedures established for these purposes should be exhausted or if
there should be a breakdown in negotiations between the parties,
teachers' organizations should have the right to take such other
steps as are normally open to other organizations in the defense of
their legitimate interests.
IX. Conditions for effective teaching and learning
85. Since the teacher is a valuable specialist, his work should be
so organized and assisted as to avoid waste of his time and energy.
Class size
86. Class size should be such as to permit the teacher to give the
pupils individual attention. From time to time provision may be made
for small group or even individual instruction for such purposes as
remedial work, and on occasion, for large group instruction
employing audio-visual aids.
Ancillary staff
87. With a view to enabling teachers to concentrate on their
professional tasks, schools should be provided with ancillary staff
to perform non-teaching duties.
Teaching aids
88. (1) Authorities should provide teachers and pupils with modern
aids to teaching. Such aids should not be regarded as a substitute
for the teacher but as a means of improving the quality of teaching
and extending to a larger number of pupils the benefits of
education.
(2) Authorities should promote research into the use of such aids
and encourage teachers to participate actively in such research.
Hours of work
89. The hours teachers are required to work per day and per week
should be established in consultation with teachers' organizations.
90. In fixing hours of teaching account should be taken of all
factors which are relevant to the teacher's work load, such as:
(a) the number of pupils with whom the teacher is required to work
per day and per week;
(b) the necessity to provide time for adequate planning and
preparation of lessons and for evaluation of work;
(c) the number of different lessons assigned to be taught each day;
(d) the demands upon the time of the teacher imposed by
participation in research, in co-curricular and extra-curricular
activities, in supervisory duties and in counseling of pupils ;
(e) the desirability of providing time in which teachers may report
to and consult with parents regarding pupil progress.
91. Teachers should be provided time necessary for taking part in
in-service training programmes.
92. Participation of teachers in extra-curricular activities should
not constitute an excessive burden and should not interfere with the
fulfillment of the main duties of the teacher.
93. Teachers assigned special educational responsibilities in
addition to classroom instruction should have their normal hours of
teaching reduced correspondingly.
Annual holidays with pay
94. All teachers should enjoy a right to adequate annual vacation
with full pay.
Study leave
95. (1) Teachers should be granted study leave on full or partial
pay at intervals. Women teachers with children should be encouraged
to remain in the service by such measures as enabling them, at their
request, to take additional
(2) The period of study leave should be counted for seniority and
pension purposes.
(3) Teachers in areas which are remote from population centers and
are recognized as such by the public authorities should be given
study leave more frequently.
Special leave
96. Leave of absence granted within the framework of bilateral and
multilateral cultural exchanges should be considered as service.
97. Teachers attached to technical assistance projects should be
granted leave of absence and their seniority, eligibility for
promotion and pension rights in the home country should be
safeguarded. In addition special arrangements should be made to
cover their extraordinary expenses.
98. Foreign guest teachers should similarly be given leave of
absence by their home countries and have their seniority and pension
rights safeguarded.
99. (1) Teachers should be granted occasional leave of absence with
full pay to enable them to participate in the activities of their
organizations.
(2) Teachers should have the right to take up office in their
organizations; in such case their entitlements should be similar to
those of teachers holding public office.
100. Teachers should be granted leave of absence with full pay for
adequate personal reasons under arrangements specified in advance of
employment.
Sick leave and maternity leave
101. (1) Teachers should be entitled to sick leave with pay.
(2) In determining the period during which full or partial pay shall
be payable, account should be taken of cases in which it is
necessary for teachers to be isolated from pupils for long periods.
102. Effect should be given to the standards laid down by the
International Labour Organisation in the field of maternity
protection, and in particular the Maternity Protection Convention,
1919, and the Maternity Protection Convention (Revised), 1952, as
well as to the standards referred to in paragraph 126 of this
103. Women teachers with children should be encouraged to remain in
the service by such measures as enabling them, at their request, to
take additional unpaid leave of up to one year after childbirth
without loss of employment, all rights resulting from employment
being fully safeguarded.
Teacher exchange
104. Authorities should recognize the value both to the education
service and to teachers themselves of professional and cultural
exchanges between countries and of travel abroad on the part of
teachers; they should seek to extend such opportunities and take
account of the experience acquired abroad by individual teachers.
105. Recruitment for such exchanges should be arranged without any
dis-crimination, and the persons concerned should not be considered
as representing any particular political view.
106. Teachers who travel in order to study and work abroad should be
given adequate facilities to do so and proper safeguards of their
posts and status.
107. Teachers should be encouraged to share teaching experience
gained abroad with other members of the profession.
School buildings
108. School buildings should be safe and attractive in overall
design and functional in layout; they should lend themselves to
effective teaching, and to use for extra-curricular activities and,
especially in rural areas, as a community centre; they should be
constructed in accordance with established sanitary standards and
with a view to durability, adaptability and easy, economic
maintenance.
109. Authorities should ensure that school premises are properly
maintained, so as not to threaten in any way the health and safety
of pupils and teachers.
110. In the planning of new schools representative teacher opinion
should be consulted. In providing new or additional accommodation
for an existing school the staff of the school concerned should be
consulted.
Special provisions for teachers in rural or remote areas
111. (1) Decent housing, preferably free or at a subsidized rental,
should be provided for teachers and their families in areas remote
from population centers and recognized as such by the public
authorities.
(2) In countries where teachers, in addition to their normal
teaching duties, are expected to promote and stimulate community
activities, development plans and programmes should include
provision for appropriate accommodation for teachers.
112. (1) On appointment or transfer to schools in remote areas,
teachers should be paid removal and travel expenses for themselves
and their families.
(2) Teachers in such areas should, where necessary, be given special
travel facilities to enable them to maintain their professional
standards.
(3) Teachers transferred to remote areas should, as an inducement,
be reimbursed their travel expenses from their place of work to
their home town once a year when they go on leave.
113. Whenever teachers are exposed to particular hardships, they
should be compensated by the payment of special hardship allowances,
which should be included in earnings taken into account for pension
purposes.
X. Teachers' salaries
114. Amongst the various factors which affect the status of
teachers, particular importance should be attached to salary, seeing
that in present world con-ditions other factors, such as the
standing or regard accorded them and the level of appreciation of
the importance of their function, are largely dependent, as in other
comparable professions, on the economic position in which they are
placed.
115. Teachers' salaries should :
(a) reflect the importance to society of the teaching function and
hence the importance of teachers as well as the responsibilities of
all kinds which fall upon them from the time of their entry into the
service;
(b) compare favorably with salaries paid in other occupations
requiring similar or equivalent qualifications ;
(c) provide teachers with the means to ensure a reasonable standard
of living for themselves and their families as well as to invest in
further education or in the pursuit of cultural activities, thus
enhancing their professional qualification;
(d) take account of the fact that certain posts require higher
qualifications and experience and carry greater responsibilities.
116. Teachers should be paid on the basis of salary scales
established in agreement with the teachers' organizations. In no
circumstances should qualified teachers during a probationary period
or if employed on a temporary basis be paid on a lower salary scale
than that laid down for established teachers.
117. The salary structure should be planned so as not to give rise
to injustices or anomalies tending to lead to friction between
different groups of teachers.
118. Where a maximum number of class contact hours is laid down, a
teacher whose regular schedule exceeds the normal maximum should
receive additional remuneration on an approved scale.
119. Salary differentials should be based on objective criteria such
as levels of qualification, years of experience or degrees of
responsibility but the relationship between the lowest and the
highest salary should be of a reasonable order.
120. In establishing the placement on a basic salary scale of a
teacher of vocational or technical subjects who may have no academic
degree, allowance should be made for the value of his practical
training and experience.
121. Teachers' salaries should be calculated on an annual basis.
122. (1) Advancement within the grade through salary increments
granted at regular, preferably annual, intervals should be provided.
(2) The progression from the minimum to the maximum of the basic
salary scale should not extend over a period longer, than, 10 to 15
years.
(3) Teachers should be granted salary increments for service
performed during periods of probationary or temporary appointment.
123. (1) Salary scales for teachers should be reviewed periodically
to take into account such factors as a rise in the cost of living,
increased productivity leading to higher standards of living in the
country or- a general upward movement in wage or salary levels.
(2) Where a system of salary adjustments automatically following a
cost of living index has been adopted, the choice of index should be
determined with the participation of the teachers' organizations and
any cost-of-living allowance granted should be regarded as an
integral part of earnings taken into account for pension purposes.
124. No merit rating system for purposes of salary determination
should be introduced or applied without prior consultation with and
acceptance by the teachers' organizations concerned.
XI. Social security
General provisions
125. All teachers, regardless of the type of school in which they
serve, should enjoy the same or similar social security protection.
Protection should be extended to periods of probation and of
training for those who are regularly employed as teachers.
126. (1) Teachers should be protected by social security measures in
respect of all the contingencies included in the International
Labour Organization -Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention,
1952, namely by medical care, sickness benefit, unemployment
benefit, old-age benefit, employment injury benefit, family benefit,
maternity benefit, invalidity benefit and survivors' benefit.
(2) The standards of social security provided for teachers should be
at least as favorable as those set out in the relevant instruments
of-the International Labour Organization and in particular the
Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952.
(3) Social security benefits for teachers should be granted as a
matter of right.
127. The social security protection of teachers should take account
of their particular conditions of employment, as indicated in
paragraphs 128-140.
Medical care
128. In regions whIre there is a scarcity of medical facilities
teachers should
be paid travelling expenses necessary to obtain appropriate medical
care.
Sickness benefit
129. (1) Sickness benefit should be granted throughout any period of
incapacity for work involving suspension of earnings.
(2) It should be paid from the first day in each case of suspension
of earnings.
(3) Where the duration of sickness benefit is limited to a specified
period, provisions should be made for extensions in cases in which
it is necessary for teachers to be isolated from pupils.
Employment injury benefit
130. Teachers should be protected against the consequences of
injuries suffered not only during teaching at school but also when
engaged in school activities away from the school premises or
grounds.
131. Certain infectious diseases prevalent among children should be
regarded as occupational diseases when contracted by teachers who
have been exposed to them by virtue of their contact with pupils.
Old-age benefit
132. Pension credits earned by a teacher under any education
authority within a country should be portable should the teacher
transfer to employment under any other authority within that
country.
133. Taking account of national regulations, teachers who, in case
of a duly recognized teacher shortage, continue in service after
qualifying for a pension should either receive credit in the
calculation of the pension for the additional years of service or be
able to gain a supplementary pension through an appropriate agency.
134. Old-age benefit% should be so related to final earnings that
the teacher may continue to maintain an adequate living standard.
Invalidity benefit
135. Invalidity benefit should be payable to teachers who are forced
to discontinue teaching because of physical or mental disability.
Provision should be made for the granting of pensions where the
contingency is not covered by extended sickness benefit or other
means.
136. Where disability is only partial in that the teacher is able to
teach part time, partial invalidity benefit should be payable.
137. (1) Invalidity benefit should be so related to final earnings
that the teacher may continue to maintain an adequate living
standard.
(2) Provision should be made for medical care and allied benefits
with a view to restoring or, where this is not possible, improving
the health of dis-abled teachers, as well as for rehabilitation
services designed to prepare disabled teachers, wherever possible,
for the resumption of their previous activity.
Survivors' benefit
138. The conditions of eligibility for survivors' benefit and the
amount of such benefit should be such as to enable survivors to
maintain an adequate standard of living and as to secure the welfare
and education of surviving dependent children.
Means of providing social security for teachers
139. (1) The social security protection of teachers should be
assured as far as possible through a general scheme applicable to
employed persons in the public sector or in the private sector as
appropriate.
(2) Where no general scheme is in existence for one or more of the
contingencies to be covered, special schemes, statutory or
non-statutory, should be established.
(3) Where the level of benefits under a general scheme is below that
provided for in this Recommendation, it should be brought up to the
recom-mended standard by means of supplementary schemes.
140. Consideration should be given to the possibility of associating
represen-tatives of teachers' organizations with the administration
of special and sup-plementary schemes, including the investment of
their funds.
XII. The teacher shortage
141. (1) It should be a guiding principle that any severe supply
problem should be dealt with by measures which are recognized as
exceptional, which do, not detract from or endanger in any way
professional standards already established or to be established and
which minimize educational loss to pupils.
(2) Recognizing that certain expedients designed to deal with the
shortage of teachers, such as over-large classes and the
unreasonable extension of hours of teaching duty are incompatible
with the aims and objectives of education and are detrimental to the
pupils, the competent authorities as a matter of urgency should take
steps to render these expedients unnecessary and to discontinue
them.
142. In developing countries, where supply considerations may
necessitate short-term intensive emergency preparation programmes
for teachers,” a fully professional, extensive programme should be
available in order to produce corps of professionally prepared
teachers competent to guide and direct the educational enterprise.
143. (1) Students admitted to training in short-term, emergency
programmes should be selected in terms of the standards applying to
admission to the normal professional programme, or even higher ones,
to ensure that they will be capable of subsequently completing the
requirements of the full programme.
(2) Arrangements and special facilities, including extra study leave
on full pay, should enable such students to complete their
qualifications in service.
144. (1) As far as possible, unqualified personnel should be
required to work under the close supervision and direction of
professionally qualified teachers.
(2) As a condition of continued employment such persons should be
required to obtain or complete their qualifications.
145. Authorities should recognize that improvements in the social
and economic status of teachers, their living and working
conditions, their terms of employment and their career prospects are
the best means of overcoming any existing shortage of competent and
experienced teachers, and of attracting to and retaining in they
teaching profession substantial numbers of fully qualified persons.
XIII. Final provision
146. Where teachers enjoy a status, which is, in certain respects,
more favorable than that provided for in this Recommendation, its
terms should not be invoked to diminish the status already granted.
The foregoing is the authentic text of the Recommendation duly
adopted by the Special Intergovernmental Conference on the Status of
Teachers, which was held in Paris and declared closed the fifth day
of October 1966.
IN FAITH WHEREOF we have appended our signatures this fifth day of
October 1966.
The President of the Special Intergovernmental Conference on the
Status of Teachers
The Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization
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Date of adoption 1966
UNESCO
