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30-4-2007
 Preamble
The General Conference of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), meeting
in Paris from 21 October to 12 November 1997, at its 29th session, Conscious of
the responsibility of states for the provision of education for all in
fulfilment of Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948(
Recalling in particular the
responsibility of the states for the provision of higher education in
fulfilment of Article 13, paragraph 1(c), of the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966(
Conscious that higher education
and research are instrumental in the pursuit, advancement and transfer of
knowledge and constitute an exceptionally rich cultural and scientific asset,
Also conscious that governments
and important social groups, such as students, industry and labour, are vitally
interested in and benefit from the services and outputs of the higher education
systems,
Recognizing the decisive role of
higher education teaching personnel in the advancement of higher education, and
the importance of their contribution to the development of humanity and modern
society,
Convinced that higher-education
teaching personnel, like all other citizens, are expected to endeavour to
enhance the observance in society of the cultural, economic, social, civil and
political rights of all peoples,
Aware of the need to reshape
higher education to meet social and economic changes and for higher education
teaching personnel to participate in this process,
Expressing concern regarding the
vulnerability of the academic community to untoward political pressures which
could undermine academic freedom,
Considering that the right to
education, teaching and research can only be fully enjoyed in an atmosphere of
academic freedom and autonomy for institutions of higher education and that the
open communication of findings, hypotheses and opinions lies at the very heart
of higher education and provides the strongest guarantee of the accuracy and
objectivity of scholarship and research,
Concerned to ensure that higher-education
teaching personnel enjoy the status commensurate with this role, Recognizing
the diversity of cultures in the world,
Taking into account the great
diversity of the laws, regulations, practices and traditions which, in
different countries, determine the patterns and organization of higher
education,
Mindful of the diversity of
arrangements which apply to higher-education teaching personnel in different
countries, in particular according to whether the regulations concerning the
public service apply to them,
Convinced nevertheless that
similar questions arise in all countries with regard to the status of higher
education teaching personnel and that these questions call for the adoption of
common approaches and so far as practicable the application of common standards
which it is the purpose of this Recommendation to set out,
Bearing in mind such instruments
as the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960), which
recognizes that UNESCO has a duty not only to proscribe any form of
discrimination in education, but also to promote equality of opportunity and
treatment for all in education at all levels, including the conditions under
which it is given, as well as the Recommendation concerning the Status of
Teachers (1966) and the UNESCO Recommendation on the Status of Scientific
Researchers (1974), as well as the instruments of the International Labour
Organization on freedom of association and the right to organize and to
collective bargaining and on equality of opportunity and treatment,
Desiring to complement existing
conventions, covenants and recommendations contained in international standards
set out in the appendix with provisions relating to problems of particular
concern to higher education institutions and their teaching and research
personnel,
Adopts the present Recommendation
on 11 November 1997
I. Definitions
1. For the purpose of this Recommendation:
a) ‘higher education’ means
programmes of study, training or training for research at the post-secondary
level provided by universities or other educational establishments that are
approved as institutions of higher education by the competent state authorities,
and/or through recognized accreditation systems;
b) ‘research’, within the context
of higher education, means original scientific, technological and engineering, medical,
cultural, social and human science or educational research which implies
careful, critical, disciplined inquiry, varying in technique and method
according to the nature and conditions of the problems identified, directed
towards the clarification and/or resolution of the problems, and when within an
institutional framework, supported by an appropriate infrastructure;
c) ‘scholarship’ means the
processes by which higher-education teaching personnel keep up to date with
their subject, engage in scholarly editing, disseminate their work and improve
their pedagogical skills as teachers in their discipline and upgrade their
academic credentials;
d) ‘extension work’ means a
service by which the resources of an educational institution are extended
beyond its confines to serve a widely diversified community within the state or
region regarded as the constituent area of the institution, so long as this
work does not contradict the mission of the institution. In teaching it may
include a wide range of activities such as extramural, lifelong and distance
education delivered through evening classes, short courses, seminars and
institutes. In research it may lead to the provision of expertise to the public,
private and non-profit sectors, various types of consultation, and
participation in applied research and in implementing research results;
e) ‘institutions of higher
education’ means universities, other educational establishments, centres and
structures of higher education, and centres of research and culture associated
with any of the above, public or private, that are approved as such either
through recognized accreditation systems or by the competent state authorities;
f) ‘higher-education teaching
personnel’ means all those persons in institutions or programmes of higher
education who are engaged to teach and/or to undertake scholarship and/or to
undertake research and/or to provide educational services to students or to the
community at large.
II. Scope
2.This
Recommendation applies to all highereducation teaching personnel.
III. Guiding principles
3 .The global objectives of
international peace, understanding, co-operation and sustainable development
pursued by each Member State and by the United Nations require, inter alia, education
for peace and in the culture of peace, as defined by UNESCO, as well as
qualified and cultivated graduates of higher education institutions, capable of
serving the community as responsible citizens and undertaking effective
scholarship and advanced research and, as a consequence, a corps of talented
and highly qualified higher-education teaching personnel.
4. Institutions
of higher education, and more particularly universities, are communities of
scholars preserving, disseminating and expressing freely their opinions on
traditional knowledge and culture, and pursuing new knowledge without
constriction by prescribed doctrines. The pursuit of new knowledge and its
application lie at the heart of the mandate of such institutions of higher
education. In higher education institutions where original research is not
required, higher-education teaching personnel should maintain and develop
knowledge of their subject through scholarship and improved pedagogical skills.
5. Advances in higher education, scholarship and
research depend largely on infrastructure and resources, both human and
material, and on the qualifications and expertise of higher-education teaching
personnel as well as on their human, pedagogical and technical qualities, underpinned
by academic freedom, professional responsibility, collegiality and
institutional autonomy.
6. Teaching in higher education is a profession: it
is a form of public service that requires of higher education personnel expert
knowledge and specialized skills acquired and maintained through rigorous and
lifelong study and research; it also calls for a sense of personal and
institutional responsibility for the education and welfare of students and of
the community at large and for a commitment to high professional standards in
scholarship and research.
7. Working conditions for higher-education
teaching personnel should be such as will best promote effective teaching, scholarship,
research and extension work and enable higher-education teaching personnel to
carry out their professional tasks.
8. Organizations which represent higher-education
teaching personnel should be considered and recognized as a force which can
contribute greatly to educational advancement and which should, therefore, be
involved, together with other stakeholders and interested parties, in the
determination of higher education policy.
9. Respect should be shown for the diversity of
higher education institution systems in each Member State
in accordance with its national laws and practices as well as with
international standards.
IV. Educational objectives and
policies
10. At all appropriate stages of their national
planning in general, and of their planning for higher education in particular, Member
States should take all necessary measures to ensure that:
a) higher education is directed to
human development and to the progress of society;
b) higher education contributes to
the achievement of the goals of lifelong learning and to the development of
other forms and levels of education;
c) where public funds are
appropriated for higher education institutions, such funds are treated as a
public investment, subject to effective public accountability;
d) the funding of higher education
is treated as a form of public investment the returns on which are, for the
most part, necessarily long term, subject to government and public priorities;
e) the justification for public
funding is held constantly before public opinion.
11. Higher-education teaching personnel should have
access to libraries which have up-to-date collections reflecting diverse sides
of an issue, and whose holdings are not subject to censorship or other forms of
intellectual interference. They should also have access, without censorship, to
international computer systems, satellite programmes and databases required for
their teaching, scholarship or research.
12. The publication and dissemination of the
research results obtained by higher-education teaching personnel should be
encouraged and facilitated with a view to assisting them to acquire the
reputation which they merit, as well as with a view to promoting the
advancement of science, technology, education and culture generally. To this
end, higher-education teaching personnel should be free to publish the results
of research and scholarship in books, journals and databases of their own
choice and under their own names, provided they are the authors or co-authors
of the above scholarly works. The intellectual property of higher-education
teaching personnel should benefit from appropriate legal protection, and in
particular the protection afforded by national and international copyright law.
13. The interplay of ideas and information among
higher-education teaching personnel throughout the world is vital to the
healthy development of higher education and research and should be actively
promoted. To this end higher-education teaching personnel should be enabled
throughout their careers to participate in international gatherings on higher
education or research, to travel abroad without political restrictions and to
use the Internet or video-conferencing for these purposes.
14. Programmes providing for the broadest exchange
of higher-education teaching personnel between institutions, both nationally
and internationally, including the organization of symposia, seminars and
collaborative projects, and the exchange of educational and scholarly
information should be developed and encouraged. The extension of communications
and direct contacts between universities, research institutions and
associations as well as among scientists and research workers should be
facilitated, as should access by higher education teaching personnel from other
states to open information material in public archives, libraries, research
institutes and similar bodies.
15. Member States and higher education institutions should, nevertheless,
be conscious of the exodus of higher-education teaching personnel from the
developing countries and, in particular, the least developed ones. They should,
therefore, encourage aid programmes to the developing countries to help sustain
an academic environment which offers satisfactory conditions of work for higher-education
teaching personnel in those countries, so that this exodus may be contained and
ultimately reversed.
16. Fair, just and reasonable national policies and
practices for the recognition of degrees and of credentials for the practice of
the higher education profession from other states should be established that
are consistent with the UNESCO Recommendation on the Recognition of Studies and
Qualifications in Higher Education of 1993.
V. Institutional rights, duties
and responsibilities
A. Institutional autonomy
17. The proper enjoyment of academic freedom and
compliance with the duties and responsibilities listed below require the
autonomy of institutions of higher education. Autonomy is that degree of self-governance
necessary for effective decision making by institutions of higher education
regarding their academic work, standards, management and related activities
consistent with systems of public accountability, especially in respect of
funding provided by the state, and respect for academic freedom and human rights.
However, the nature of institutional autonomy may differ according to the type
of establishment involved.
18. Autonomy is the institutional form of academic
freedom and a necessary precondition to guarantee the proper fulfilment of the
functions entrusted to higher-education teaching personnel and institutions.
19. Member States are under an obligation to
protect higher education institutions from threats to their autonomy coming
from any source.
20. Autonomy should not be used by higher education
institutions as a pretext to limit the rights of higher-education teaching
personnel provided for in this Recommendation or in other international
standards set out in the appendix.
21. Self-governance, collegiality and appropriate
academic leadership are essential components of meaningful autonomy for
institutions of higher education.
B. Institutional accountability
22. In view of the substantial financial
investments made, Member
States and higher education
institutions should ensure a proper balance between the level of autonomy
enjoyed by higher education institutions and their systems of accountability. Higher
education institutions should endeavour to open their governance in order to be
accountable. They should be accountable for:
a)effective communication to the
public concerning the nature of their educational mission;
b)a commitment to quality and
excellence in their teaching, scholarship and research functions, and an
obligation to protect and ensure the integrity of their teaching, scholarship
and research against intrusions inconsistent with their academic missions;
c)effective support of academic
freedom and fundamental human rights;
d)ensuring high quality education
for as many academically qualified individuals as possible subject to the
constraints of the resources available to them;
e)a commitment to the provision of
opportunities for lifelong learning, consistent with the mission of the
institution and the resources provided;
f)ensuring that students are
treated fairly and justly, and without discrimination;
g)adopting policies and procedures
to ensure the equitable treatment of women and minorities and to eliminate
sexual and racial harassment;
h)ensuring that higher education
personnel are not impeded in their work in the classroom or in their research
capacity by violence, intimidation or harassment;
i)honest and open accounting;
j)efficient use of resources;
k)the creation, through the
collegial process and/or through negotiation with organizations representing
higher-education teaching personnel, consistent with the principles of academic
freedom and freedom of speech, of statements or codes of ethics to guide higher
education personnel in their teaching, scholarship, research and extension work;
l)assistance in the fulfilment of
economic, social, cultural and political rights while striving to prevent the
use of knowledge, science and technology to the detriment of those rights, or
for purposes which run counter to generally accepted academic ethics, human
rights and peace;
m)ensuring that they address
themselves to the contemporary problems facing society; to this end, their
curricula, as well as their activities, should respond, where appropriate, to
the current and future needs of the local community and of society at large, and
they should play an important role in enhancing the labour market opportunities
of their graduates;
n)encouraging, where possible and
appropriate, international academic co-operation which transcends national, regional,
political, ethnic and other barriers, striving to prevent the scientific and
technological exploitation of one state by another, and promoting equal
partnership of all the academic communities of the world in the pursuit and use
of knowledge and the preservation of cultural heritages;
o)ensuring up-to-date libraries
and access, without censorship, to modern teaching, research and information
resources providing information required by higher-education teaching personnel
or by students for teaching, scholarship or research;
p)ensuring the facilities and
equipment necessary for the mission of the institution and their proper upkeep;
q)ensuring that when engaged in
classified research it will not contradict the educational mission and
objectives of the institutions and will not run counter to the general
objectives of peace, human rights, sustainable development and environment.
23. Systems of institutional accountability should
be based on a scientific methodology and be clear, realistic, cost-effective
and simple. In their operation they should be fair, just and equitable. Both
the methodology and the results should be open.
24. Higher education institutions, individually or
collectively, should design and implement appropriate systems of accountability,
including quality assurance mechanisms to achieve the above goals, without
harming institutional autonomy or academic freedom. The organizations
representing higher-education teaching personnel should participate, where
possible, in the planning of such systems. Where statemandated structures of
accountability are established, their procedures should be negotiated, where
applicable, with the institutions of higher education concerned and with the
organizations representing higher-education teaching personnel.
VI. Rights and freedoms of
higher-education teaching personnel
A. Individual rights and
freedoms: civil rights, academic freedom, publication rights, and the
international exchange of information
25. Access to the higher education academic
profession should be based solely on appropriate academic qualifications, competence
and experience and be equal for all members of society without any
discrimination.
26. Higher-education teaching personnel, like all
other groups and individuals, should enjoy those internationally recognized
civil, political, social and cultural rights applicable to all citizens. Therefore,
all higher-education teaching personnel should enjoy freedom of thought, conscience,
religion, expression, assembly and association as well as the right to liberty
and security of the person and liberty of movement. They should not be hindered
or impeded in exercising their civil rights as citizens, including the right to
contribute to social change through freely expressing their opinion of state
policies and of policies affecting higher education. They should not suffer any
penalties simply because of the exercise of such rights. Higher-education teaching
personnel should not be subject to arbitrary arrest or detention, nor to
torture, nor to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In cases of gross
violation of their rights, higher-education teaching personnel should have the
right to appeal to the relevant national, regional or international bodies such
as the agencies of the United Nations, and organizations representing higher-education
teaching personnel should extend full support in such cases.
27. The maintaining of the above international standards
should be upheld in the interest of higher education internationally and within
the country. To do so, the principle of academic freedom should be scrupulously
observed. Higher-education teaching personnel are entitled to the maintaining
of academic freedom, that is to say, the right, without constriction by
prescribed doctrine, to freedom of teaching and discussion, freedom in carrying
out research and disseminating and publishing the results thereof, freedom to
express freely their opinion about the institution or system in which they work,
freedom from institutional censorship and freedom to participate in
professional or representative academic bodies. All higher-education teaching
personnel should have the right to fulfil their functions without discrimination
of any kind and without fear of repression by the state or any other source. Higher-education
teaching personnel can effectively do justice to this principle if the
environment in which they operate is conducive, which requires a democratic atmosphere;
hence the challenge for all of developing a democratic society.
28. Higher-education teaching personnel have the
right to teach without any interference, subject to accepted professional
principles including professional responsibility and intellectual rigour with
regard to standards and methods of teaching. Higher-education teaching
personnel should not be forced to instruct against their own best knowledge and
conscience or be forced to use curricula and methods contrary to national and
international human rights standards. Higher education teaching personnel
should play a significant role in determining the curriculum.
29. Higher-education teaching personnel have a
right to carry out research work without any interference, or any suppression, in
accordance with their professional responsibility and subject to nationally and
internationally recognized professional principles of intellectual rigour, scientific
inquiry and research ethics. They should also have the right to publish and
communicate the conclusions of the research of which they are authors or co-authors,
as stated in paragraph 12 of this Recommendation.
30. Higher-education teaching personnel have a
right to undertake professional activities outside of their employment, particularly
those that enhance their professional skills or allow for the application of
knowledge to the problems of the community, provided such activities do not
interfere with their primary commitments to their home institutions in
accordance with institutional policies and regulations or national laws and
practice where they exist.
B. Self-governance and
collegiality
31. Higher-education teaching personnel should have
the right and opportunity, without discrimination of any kind, according to
their abilities, to take part in the governing bodies and to criticize the
functioning of higher education institutions, including their own, while
respecting the right of other sections of the academic community to participate,
and they should also have the right to elect a majority of representatives to
academic bodies within the higher education institution.
32. The principles of collegiality include academic
freedom, shared responsibility, the policy of participation of all concerned in
internal decision making structures and practices, and the development of
consultative mechanisms. Collegial decision-making should encompass decisions
regarding the administration and determination of policies of higher education,
curricula, research, extension work, the allocation of resources and other
related activities, in order to improve academic excellence and quality for the
benefit of society at large.
VII. Duties and
responsibilities of higher education teaching personnel
33. Higher-education teaching personnel should
recognize that the exercise of rights carries with it special duties and
responsibilities, including the obligation to respect the academic freedom of
other members of the academic community and to ensure the fair discussion of
contrary views. Academic freedom carries with it the duty to use that freedom
in a manner consistent with the scholarly obligation to base research on an
honest search for truth. Teaching, research and scholarship should be conducted
in full accordance with ethical and professional standards and should, where
appropriate, respond to contemporary problems facing society as well as
preserve the historical and cultural heritage of the world.
34. In particular, the individual duties of higher
education teaching personnel inherent in their academic freedom are:
a) to teach students effectively
within the means provided by the institution and the state, to be fair and
equitable to male and female students and treat those of all races and
religions, as well as those with disabilities, equally, to encourage the free
exchange of ideas between themselves and their students, and to be available to
them for guidance in their studies. Higher-education teaching personnel should
ensure, where necessary, that the minimum content defined in the syllabus for
each subject is covered;
b) to conduct scholarly research
and to disseminate the results of such research or, where original research is
not required, to maintain and develop their knowledge of their subject through
study and research, and through the development of teaching methodology to
improve their pedagogical skills;
c) to base their research and
scholarship on an honest search for knowledge with due respect for evidence, impartial
reasoning and honesty in reporting;
d) to observe the ethics of
research involving humans, animals, the heritage or the environment;
e) to respect and to acknowledge
the scholarly work of academic colleagues and students and, in particular, to
ensure that authorship of published works includes all who have materially
contributed to, and share responsibility for, the contents of a publication;
f) to refrain from using new
information, concepts or data that were originally obtained as a result of
access to confidential manuscripts or applications for funds for research or
training that may have been seen as the result of processes such as peer review,
unless the author has given permission;
g) to ensure that research is
conducted according to the laws and regulations of the state in which the
research is carried out, that it does not violate international codes of human
rights, and that the results of the research and the data on which it is based
are effectively made available to scholars and researchers in the host
institution, except where this might place respondents in peril or where
anonymity has been guaranteed;
h) to avoid conflicts of interest
and to resolve them through appropriate disclosure and full consultation with
the higher education institution employing them, so that they have the approval
of the aforesaid institution;
i) to handle honestly all funds
entrusted to their care for higher education institutions for research or for
other professional or scientific bodies;
j) to be fair and impartial when
presenting a professional appraisal of academic colleagues and students;
k) to be conscious of a
responsibility, when speaking or writing outside scholarly channels on matters
which are not related to their professional expertise, to avoid misleading the
public on the nature of their professional expertise;
l) to undertake such appropriate
duties as are required for the collegial governance of institutions of higher
education and of professional bodies.
35. Higher-education teaching personnel should seek
to achieve the highest possible standards in their professional work, since
their status largely depends on themselves and the quality of their
achievements.
36. Higher-education teaching personnel should
contribute to the public accountability of higher education institutions
without, however, forfeiting the degree of institutional autonomy necessary for
their work, for their professional freedom and for the advancement of knowledge.
VIII. Preparation for the
profession
37. Policies governing access to preparation for a
career in higher education rest on the need to provide society with an adequate
supply of higher-education teaching personnel who possess the necessary ethical,
intellectual and teaching qualities and who have the required professional
knowledge and skills.
38. All aspects of the preparation of higher-education
teaching personnel should be free from any form of discrimination.
39. Amongst candidates seeking to prepare for a
career in higher education, women and members of minorities with equal academic
qualifications and experience should be given equal opportunities and treatment.
IX. Terms and conditions of
employment
A. Entry into the academic
profession
40. The employers of higher-education teaching
personnel should establish such terms and conditions of employment as will be
most conducive for effective teaching and/or research and/or scholarship and/or
extension work and will be fair and free from discrimination of any kind.
41. Temporary measures aimed at accelerating de
facto equality for disadvantaged members of the academic community should not
be considered discriminatory, provided that these measures are discontinued
when the objectives of equality of opportunity and treatment have been achieved
and systems are in place to ensure the continuance of equality of opportunity
and treatment.
42. A probationary period on initial entry to
teaching and research in higher education is recognized as the opportunity for
the encouragement and helpful initiation of the entrant and for the
establishment and maintenance of proper professional standards, as well as for
the individual’s own development of his/her teaching and research proficiency. The
normal duration of probation should be known in advance and the conditions for
its satisfactory completion should be strictly related to professional competence.
If such candidates fail to complete their probation satisfactorily, they should
have the right to know the reasons and to receive this information sufficiently
in advance of the end of the probationary period to give them a reasonable
opportunity to improve their performance. They should also have the right to
appeal.
43. Higher-education teaching personnel should
enjoy:
a) a just and open system of
career development including fair procedures for appointment, tenure where
applicable, promotion, dismissal, and other related matters;
b) an effective, fair and just
system of labour relations within the institution, consistent with the
international standards set out in the appendix.
44. There should be provisions to allow for
solidarity with other institutions of higher education and with their higher-education
teaching personnel when they are subject to persecution. Such solidarity may be
material as well as moral and should, where possible, include refuge and
employment or education for victims of persecution.
B.Security of employment
45. Tenure or its functional equivalent, where
applicable, constitutes one of the major procedural safeguards of academic
freedom and against arbitrary decisions. It also encourages individual
responsibility and the retention of talented higher-education teaching
personnel.
46. Security of employment in the profession, including
tenure or its functional equivalent, where applicable, should be safeguarded as
it is essential to the interests of higher education as well as those of higher-education
teaching personnel. It ensures that higher-education teaching personnel who
secure continuing employment following rigorous evaluation can only be
dismissed on professional grounds and in accordance with due process. They may
also be released for bona fide financial reasons, provided that all the
financial accounts are open to public inspection, that the institution has
taken all reasonable alternative steps to prevent termination of employment, and
that there are legal safeguards against bias in any termination of employment
procedure. Tenure or its functional equivalent, where applicable, should be
safeguarded as far as possible even when changes in the organization of or
within a higher education institution or system are made, and should be granted,
after a reasonable period of probation, to those who meet stated objective
criteria in teaching, and/or scholarship, and/or research to the satisfaction
of an academic body, and/or extension work to the satisfaction of the
institution of higher education.
C. Appraisal
47. Higher education institutions should ensure
that:
a) evaluation and assessment of
the work of higher-education teaching personnel are an integral part of the
teaching, learning and research process, and that their major function is the
development of individuals in accordance with their interests and capacities;
b) evaluation is based only on
academic criteria of competence in research, teaching and other academic or
professional duties as interpreted by academic peers;
c) evaluation procedures take due
account of the difficulty inherent in measuring personal capacity, which seldom
manifests itself in a constant and unfluctuating manner;
d) where evaluation involves any
kind of direct assessment of the work of higher-education teaching personnel, by
students and/or fellow colleagues and/or administrators, such assessment is
objective and the criteria and the results are made known to the individual(s) concerned;
e) the results of appraisal of
higher-education teaching personnel are also taken into account when
establishing the staffing of the institution and considering the renewal of
employment;
f) higher-education teaching
personnel have the right to appeal to an impartial body against assessments
which they deem to be unjustified.
D. Discipline and dismissal
48. No member of the academic community should be
subject to discipline, including dismissal, except for just and sufficient
cause demonstrable before an independent third-party hearing of peers, and/or
before an impartial body such as arbitrators or the courts.
49. All members of higher-education teaching
personnel should enjoy equitable safeguards at each stage of any disciplinary
procedure, including dismissal, in accordance with the international standards
set out in the appendix.
50. Dismissal as a disciplinary measure should only
be for just and sufficient cause related to professional conduct, for example: persistent
neglect of duties, gross incompetence, fabrication or falsification of research
results, serious financial irregularities, sexual or other misconduct with
students, colleagues, or other members of the academic community or serious
threats thereof, or corruption of the educational process such as by falsifying
grades, diplomas or degrees in return for money, sexual or other favours or by
demanding sexual, financial or other material favours from subordinate
employees or colleagues in return for continuing employment.
51. Individuals should have the right to appeal
against the decision to dismiss them before independent, external bodies such
as arbitrators or the courts, with final and binding powers.
E. Negotiation of terms and
conditions of employment
52. Higher-education teaching personnel should
enjoy the right to freedom of association, and this right should be effectively
promoted. Collective bargaining or an equivalent procedure should be promoted
in accordance with the standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO)
set out in the appendix.
53. Salaries, working conditions and all matters
related to the terms and conditions of employment of higher-education teaching
personnel should be determined through a voluntary process of negotiation
between organizations representing higher-education teaching personnel and the
employers of higher education teaching personnel, except where other equivalent
procedures are provided that are consistent with international standards.
54. Appropriate machinery, consistent with national
laws and international standards, should be established by statute or by
agreement whereby the right of higher-education teaching personnel to negotiate
through their organizations with their employers, whether public or private, is
assured. Such legal and statutory rights should be enforceable through an
impartial process without undue delay.
55. If the process established for these purposes
is exhausted or if there is a breakdown in negotiations between the parties, organizations
of higher-education teaching personnel should have the right to take such other
steps as are normally open to other organizations in the defence of their
legitimate interests.
56. Higher-education teaching personnel should have
access to a fair grievance and arbitration procedure, or the equivalent, for
the settlement of disputes with their employers arising out of terms and
conditions of employment.
F. Salaries, workload, social
security benefits, health and safety
57. All financially feasible measures should be
taken to provide higher-education teaching personnel with remuneration such
that they can devote themselves satisfactorily to their duties and allocate the
necessary amount of time for the continuing training and periodic renewal of
knowledge and skills that are essential at this level of teaching.
58. The salaries of higher-education teaching
personnel should:
a) reflect the importance to
society of higher education and hence the importance of higher-education
teaching personnel as well as the different responsibilities which fall to them
from the time of their entry into the profession;
b) be at least comparable to
salaries paid in other occupations requiring similar or equivalent
qualifications;
c) provide higher-education
teaching personnel with the means to ensure a reasonable standard of living for
themselves and their families, as well as to invest in further education or in
the pursuit of cultural or scientific activities, thus enhancing their
professional qualifications;
d) take account of the fact that
certain posts require higher qualifications and experience and carry greater
responsibilities;
e) be paid regularly and on time;
f) be reviewed periodically to
take into account such factors as a rise in the cost of living, increased
productivity leading to higher standards of living, or a general upward
movement in wage or salary levels.
59. Salary differentials should be based on
objective criteria.
60. Higher-education teaching personnel should be
paid on the basis of salary scales established in agreement with organizations
representing higher-education teaching personnel, except where other equivalent
procedures consistent with international standards are provided. During a
probationary period or if employed on a temporary basis qualified higher-education
teaching personnel should not be paid on a lower scale than that laid down for
established higher education teaching personnel at the same level.
61. A
fair and impartial merit-rating system could be a means of enhancing quality
assurance and quality control. Where introduced and applied for purposes of
salary determination it should involve prior consultation with organizations
representing higher-education teaching personnel.
62. The workload of higher-education teaching
personnel should be fair and equitable, should permit such personnel to carry
out effectively their duties and responsibilities to their students as well as
their obligations in regard to scholarship, research and/or academic
administration, should provide due consideration in terms of salary for those
who are required to teach beyond their regular workload, and should be
negotiated with the organizations representing higher-education teaching
personnel, except where other equivalent procedures consistent with
international standards are provided.
63. Higher-education teaching personnel should be
provided with a work environment that does not have a negative impact on or
affect their health and safety and they should be protected by social security
measures, including those concerning sickness and disability and pension
entitlements, and measures for the protection of health and safety in respect
of all contingencies included in the conventions and recommendations of ILO. The
standards should be at least as favourable as those set out in the relevant conventions
and recommendations of ILO. Social security benefits for higher-education
teaching personnel should be granted as a matter of right.
64. The pension rights earned by higher-education
teaching personnel should be transferable nationally and internationally, subject
to national, bilateral and multilateral taxation laws and agreements, should
the individual transfer to employment with another institution of higher
education. Organizations representing higher education teaching personnel
should have the right to choose representatives to take part in the governance
and administration of pension plans designed for higher-education teaching personnel
where applicable, particularly those which are private and contributory.
G. Study and research leave and
annual holidays
65. Higher-education teaching personnel should be
granted study and research leave, such as sabbatical leave, on full or partial
pay, where applicable, at regular intervals.
66. The period of study or research leave should be
counted as service for seniority and pension purposes, subject to the
provisions of the pension plan.
67. Higher-education teaching personnel should be
granted occasional leave with full or partial pay to enable them to participate
in professional activities.
68. Leave granted to higher-education teaching
personnel within the framework of bilateral and multilateral cultural and
scientific exchanges or technical assistance programmes abroad should be
considered as service, and their seniority and eligibility for promotion and
pension rights in their home institutions should be safeguarded. In addition, special
arrangements should be made to cover their extra expenses.
69. Higher-education teaching personnel should
enjoy the right to adequate annual vacation with full pay.
H. Terms and conditions of
employment of women higher-education teaching personnel
70. All necessary measures should be taken to
promote equality of opportunity and treatment of women higher-education
teaching personnel in order to ensure, on the basis of equality between men and
women, the rights recognized by the international standards set out in the
appendix.
I. Terms and conditions of
employment of disabled higher-education teaching personnel
71. All necessary measures should be taken to
ensure that the standards set with regard to the conditions of work of higher-education
teaching personnel who are disabled are, as a minimum, consistent with the relevant
provisions of the international standards set out in the appendix.
J. Terms and conditions of
employment of part-time higher-education teaching personnel
72. The value of the service provided by qualified
part-time higher-education teaching personnel should be recognized. Higher-education
teaching personnel employed regularly on a part-time basis should:
a) receive proportionately the
same remuneration as higher-education teaching personnel employed on a full-time
basis and enjoy equivalent basic conditions of employment;
b) benefit from conditions
equivalent to those of higher-education teaching personnel employed on a full-time
basis as regards holidays with pay, sick leave and maternity leave; the
relevant pecuniary entitlements should be determined in proportion to hours of
work or earnings;
c) be entitled to adequate and
appropriate social security protection, including, where applicable, coverage under
employers’ pension schemes.
X. Utilization and
implementation
73. Member States and higher education institutions should take
all feasible steps to extend and complement their own action in respect of the
status of higher-education teaching personnel by encouraging co-operation with
and among all national and international governmental and nongovernmental
organizations whose activities fall within the scope and objectives of this
Recommendation.
74. Member States and higher education institutions should take
all feasible steps to apply the provisions spelled out above to give effect, within
their respective territories, to the principles set forth in this
Recommendation.
75. The Director-General will prepare a
comprehensive report on the world situation with regard to academic freedom and
to respect for the human rights of higher-education teaching personnel on the
basis of the information supplied by Member States and of any other information
supported by reliable evidence which he/she may have gathered by such methods
as he/she may deem appropriate.
76. In the case of a higher education institution
in the territory of a state not under the direct or indirect authority of that
state but under separate and independent authorities, the relevant authorities
should transmit the text of this Recommendation to institutions, so that such
institutions can put its provisions into practice.
XI. Final provision
77. Where higher-education teaching personnel enjoy
a status which is, in certain respects, more favourable than that provided for
in this Recommendation, the terms of this Recommendation should not be invoked
to diminish the status already recognized.
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