ABSTRACT
Low salaries are perhaps the main contributor to the low status of the teaching profession. On the one hand, raising salaries is a powerful way to attract more and better qualified teachers. Low pay may result in poorly qualified and disinterested teachers, reducing the quality and impact of the education system. On the other hand, the large number of teachers means that even modest changes to teachers' level of compensation can have dramatic financial consequences for the government. Moreover, the financial consequences of raising secondary-school teacher salaries will be even more dramatic than they currently appear, as there is often a need for many more teachers. A recent EFA Global Monitoring Report offers an extensive discussion of teacher salaries. While focused on primary-school teachers, it has applicability to secondary-school teachers as well. Paying teachers such low salaries, often even below poverty levels, is an international disgrace.
