As ministers and education leaders prepare to convene for the World Summit on Teachers (WST) on 28-29 August, the global teaching profession faces an unprecedented recruitment and retention crisis. The world needs 50 million more teachers by 2030 across early childhood, primary and secondary education, yet qualified educators are fleeing classrooms due to systematic government failures.
The WST, convened by UNESCO and hosted by the Government of Chile, brings together ministers, UN agencies, teacher unions, civil society organisations and education experts to address the shortage and advance implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4 - inclusive and equitable quality education for all.
Building on this commitment to transformation, Education International arrives in Santiago with a clear framework for addressing the global teacher shortage that centers on concrete solutions and immediate action.
Teacher voices from across all continents will bring firsthand accounts of public education systems under pressure. Their unified message: structural transformation is essential, not cosmetic fixes.
Post about the Summit
Here are sample messages that you can share on your social media:
📢I am joining colleagues at the UNESCO World Summit on Teachers to call on governments to address the global teacher shortage of 50 million and commit to fully funding public education.
👩🏼🏫👩🏽🏫👩🏿🏫The World Summit on Teachers is an unprecedented opportunity to move from words to action!!! Governments MUST commit to fully funding public education and investing in teachers.
Mongolia: Strike called by education trade union widely followed
Teachers and education support personnel (ESP) are on strike across the country since October 16th, 2025, urging the government of Mongolia to increase their basic salary to 3.5 million tugriks (around 840 euros) as well as the education budget for 2026.
Ethiopia: Teacher unionists set bold agenda and chart the future for quality education
The 23rd General Assembly of the Ethiopian Teachers’ Association (ETA) convened from October 14th-15th, 2025, bringing together educators and union leaders from across the nation and continent. The event was a call for solidarity, reform, and renewed commitment to quality, inclusive public education.
Taiwan: “Teachers have nearly become forced labor in sweatshops called schools”
The National Teachers Association (NTA) is urging the government of Taiwan to listen to teachers and improve their working conditions and to align with the UN Recommendations on the teaching profession
and achieve quality education.
Madagascar: a snapshot of the bleak political and educational landscape
The situation in Madagascar is evolving rapidly amid political changes triggered by major protests in many of the country’s large cities, especially the capital, Antananarivo, which has been affected by water and electricity cuts. FEKRIMPAMA (Christian Federation of Teachers and Education Employees of Madagascar) had called for a general strike...
Fighting the commercialisation of education
23 September 2025
Human-centred AI: EI's global conference charts the future of education
While tech companies race to embed Artificial Intelligence (AI) in schools and campuses worldwide, the voices of educators have been largely sidelined. Education International's conference, Shaping Our Future: Education Unions Leading for a Human-Centred AI, puts educators back at the centre. The 4-5 December Brussels conference will bring together union...
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4
29 August 2025
Historic Santiago Consensus puts teachers at heart of education transformation
World Summit on Teachers delivers comprehensive framework demanding sustainable investment in teaching profession
Ministers, teacher unions and education leaders meeting at the World Summit on Teachers in Chile have adopted the Santiago Consensus
, a comprehensive framework that commits governments to address the global shortage of 50 million teachers through concrete policy action.
