2017 EAST AFRICA EVIDENCE SUMMIT July 06, 2018 | KAMPALA, UGANDa Variations in the teacher transfer policy: preliminary insights from teacher attendance and baseline data Kizito OmalA & Isabelle Cohen 2017 EAST AFRICA EVIDENCE SUMMIT July 06, 2018 | KAMPALA, UGANDa

Context: Teacher Transfer Status Quo Teacher transfers take place frequently The government mandates that teachers be transferred across primary schools within a district every 3-5 years Over 10% of teachers were transferred in 2016 Transfers are also irregular More than 40% of teachers have been at their current posting for five years or more Teachers are rarely told more than a week in advance

RESEARCH QUESTIONS How can the rotation of officials affect service delivery? In particular: Can the promise of improved transfer placement better teacher motivation and performance? Could this improvement translate into better student outcomes? Are teachers demotivated by existing transfer practices?

Study Design Proposed Experimental Evaluation (RCT): Allow top-performing teachers to choose their next placement Compare: Control group Treatment group 1: Pupil growth reward + district transfer Treatment group 2: Pupil growth reward + random transfer

BASELINE: Data Collection Baseline took place in February-March 2018 Surveyed 140 schools and 1,347 teachers Surveyed 15,000 pupils and tested 66,000 pupils on: Literacy and Numeracy (P1-P7) Science and Social Studies (P4-P7) Funded by CEGA, IGC, and JPAL Governance Initiative

BASELINE: 140 Schools The average school has… 9.9 teachers 550 pupils 8.5 classrooms (temporary and permanent) 143 desks UGX 6,228,000 in government funding annually

BASELINE: How Many Pupils Per School?

BASELINE: Teachers The average teacher… Has 7 people in their household Has 5 children Earns 86% of their money teaching Commutes for 35 minutes Receives their salary late 31% of the time

BASELINE: How Do teachers Spend A day?

BASELINE: How Do Teachers Discipline?

BASELINE: Pupils The average pupil… Is 10 years old Has their mother living at home Has a 50% chance of having attended nursery Attends school 4.3 days per week Eats lunch 70% of the time Believe school will improve his or her future

BASELINE: What do Pupils have at home?

BASELINE: TREATMENT & CONTROL GROUPS RANDOM ASSIGNMENT: Public meeting of all Head Teachers and District Education Official Lots with concealed names of 140 schools were picked by Head Teachers and dropped in to 3 slots: Control Treatment 1: Pupil growth reward + district transfer Treatment 2: Pupil growth reward + random transfer

BASELINE: Treatment & control groups

BASELINE: Balance Check

Asante kwa usikivu wako! The End Asante kwa usikivu wako! Please address comments and questions to: Kizito Omala, kizyomala@gmail.com Isabelle Cohen, Isabellemcohen@berkeley.edu