Time to Teach. Teacher attendance and time on task in primary schools in The Gambia

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, monitoring teachers’ instruction time and reducing teacher absenteeism were considered effective measures to promote learning attainment (World Bank, 2020). The education system in The Gambia had started to show improvements before the pandemic; however, the challenges this major sanitary and economic crisis has imposed on children’s learning makes teacher attendance even more relevant today. The Time to Teach study seeks to support the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE) in its efforts to strengthen the role of teachers in schools to increase their time on task. Its primary objective is to identify factors affecting the various dimensions of primary school teacher attendance and to use this evidence to inform the design and implementation of teacher policies. Specifically, the study looks at four distinct dimensions of teacher attendance: (1) being in school; (2) being punctual (i.e., not arriving late/ leaving early); (3) being in the classroom (while in school); and (4) spending sufficient time on task (while in the classroom). It also identifies factors associated with teacher absenteeism at five different levels of the education system: national, subnational, community, school, and teacher. Time to Teach is a mixed methods project employing qualitative and quantitative research tools. The study draws from national, system-wide, qualitative data collections and school observations, and a quantitative survey with 60 teachers working in 20 purposely selected primary schools. Data was collected in 2019, before the start of COVID-19. However, the findings of this report have relevant implications for current recovery measures and post-pandemic efforts towards improving The Gambia’s education system.