All teachers must receive initial higher education level training before starting to teach.
All teachers should receive mentoring, induction into the profession, in-service training and on-going professional development.
Short-term solutions may be found to address critical teacher shortages, particularly in emergencies, conflict situations or when delivering specific programmes.
However, such solutions must be agreed with ministries of education, teaching unions and, if relevant, international funding agencies.
Students admitted to fast-track training programmes must be chosen according to the same criteria as those receiving standard training or according to even more rigorous criteria. It is important that such students be able to complete their training at a later stage.
Special provisions, including additional periods of study leave, with full pay, must be given to teachers who have received accelerated training, so they may complete their qualifications on an in-service basis.
Such practices should be implemented only on condition that full training be provided for a proportion of the new teachers (to be determined on a national basis) to ensure the existence of a body of teachers sufficiently skilled to guide the whole teaching profession.
The performance assessment of teachers should be developmental and arrangements for such assessment should be laid down in collective agreements.