More incentives needed to attract qualified teachers worldwide, UN says
5 October 2008 – Low salaries, lack of job security, inadequate training and overcrowded classrooms have combined to
deter many willing and eligible people from becoming teachers, the United Nations warned today as it marked World
Teachers' Day with a call to improve the recruitment of candidates.
An estimated 18 million teachers are needed worldwide to achieve universal primary education, one of the ambitious
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which world leaders agreed to try to reach by 2015, according to the UN Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The shortage is especially acute in some sub-Saharan African countries: in Rwanda and Mozambique, for example, classes
can often have as many as 60 pupils because of a lack of qualified teachers.
In a joint message, UNESCO, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN
Development Programme (UNDP) and Education International said the emphasis of the Day this year was on developing
teacher policies so as to ensure a foundation for sustainable and high-quality recruitment.
“Even when the overall supply of teachers is sufficient, remote and disadvantaged areas across the globe may suffer
persistent problems in recruitment and retention,” the joint message stated. “The shortage of qualified teachers is one
of the biggest challenges to achieving the Education for All goals.”
Insufficient training is also a problem, UNESCO reported, with many teachers in developing countries having no advanced
education themselves. Under an initiative organized by the UN agency, the Republic of Congo has improved the number and
quality of its teachers.
ENDS