It takes another 50 million teachers to ensure education

Othe numbers were released by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to mark the World Teacher's Day, celebrated on October 5.

“About 58% of these recruitment needs are due to teachers’ abandonment of the profession. The annual overall turnover rates are currently 7.2% in preschool, 4.7% in primary education and 5.4% in secondary education”, the UN agency advanced in a press release, citing data obtained from an analysis of the educational situation in 68 countries.

Only 27% of young people in Africa and 30% in Europe want to become teachers, but when teaching is the first career option, the likelihood of early abandonment decreases by 40%.

In 27 of the countries analyzed, teachers’ salaries remain “below those of professionals with comparable qualifications,” UNESCO lamented, stating that the situation is “at all levels of education”.

The organization also stressed that the overall proportion of students per teacher in primary education is the highest (approximately 28 students per teacher) and that, although the average number of hours of classes is 19 hours per week, the actual workload is 60 hours per week due to unpaid administrative and preparation tasks.

As a result, 60% of the teachers' unions indicate that teachers have great difficulty maintaining a healthy balance between work and personal life.

This World Teacher's Day marks the sixtieth anniversary of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation on Teacher Situation, a historical international instrument that sets standards on teachers' rights, responsibilities and working conditions.

To mark the anniversary, UNESCO today brings together educators, policy-makers and other stakeholders at the branch office in Paris to discuss the situation of teachers.

The meeting in Paris will also include the delivery of the UNESCO-Hamdan Prize for Teacher Development, a two-year prize of $300,000 (EUR 2660,000), also divided into three winning organizations.