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Field
Abstract
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Before
In remote rural areas of developing countries, teacher absenteeism is a widespread problem for both governmental and non-governmental programs. Based upon a pilot in Niger with an adult education program, this study will randomly assign schools to a mobile phone monitoring intervention that calls primary school teachers, the principal, the village chief and two parents.
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After
In remote rural areas of developing countries, teacher absenteeism is a widespread problem for both governmental and non-governmental programs, often due to long distances, remote monitoring budgets and weak institutions. Simple technologies, such as mobile phones, could potentially help policymakers to overcome the constraints associated with monitoring teachers' attendance. At the same time, mobile phones may not be effective in improving teacher attendance if they are not penalized for absenteeism, or increased monitoring via mobile phones crowds out intrinsic motivation. An experiment that called teachers, the village chief and two students in the context of an adult education program significantly increased students' test scores, although the mechanisms were difficult to disentangle. In partnership with the Ministry of Education and a research firm in Niger, this study will evaluate the impact of a mobile phone intervention on teacher attendance, motivation and student learning in the context of primary schools in Niger. Schools will be randomly assigned to one of two interventions designed to address the constraints associated with teacher attendance and performance in Niger, with a pure control
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