United Nations Secretary-General calls on governments to invest in education and act to end the global teacher shortage
António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), highlighted the essential role of education as the foundation of social progress and called on governments and the international community to invest in education and implement the recommendations of the UN High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession to end the global teacher shortage.
"Education International applauds the urgency expressed in UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ address in Doha at the World Social Summit. We are answering his call to action through our flagship Go Public! Fund Education campaign to make the High-Level Panel Recommendations a reality. The campaign is already active in 50 countries and growing."
David Edwards, Education International General Secretary
Call to action for education
Addressing the high-level side event on education at the Second World Summit for Social Development, Guterres warned that despite progress, 272 million children and youth remain out of school and that the world is facing a dramatic shortage of 44 million teachers. “Education can be an engine of transformation for societies and economies. But only if we can repair the cracks in this vital foundation, and strengthen education systems for the future”, the UN Secretary-General stressed.
Guterres identified four areas that demand immediate attention and action: addressing the education financing gap, ensuring access to education for the most vulnerable, ending the global teacher shortage, and providing quality holistic education.
The UN Secretary-General warned that it was imperative to address the global teacher shortage and to support the profession as a matter of urgency. The 59 recommendations put forward by the UN High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession provide the blueprint for action.
“Following the Transforming Education Summit, the High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession developed concrete recommendations to ensure that every learner has access to a professionally trained, qualified and well-supported teacher. I call on all countries, teachers’ unions, and partners to help bring these recommendations to life in classrooms around the world.”
António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Emphasising that education is an investment, not a cost, Guterres highlighted the education financing gap that has swelled to $97 billion annually and called on governments to invest in education. Furthermore, developing countries must be supported to invest in their education systems through a set of measures including easing debt burdens and reforming global financial institutions.
Global union mobilisation to Go Public! Fund Education
Education International’s global campaign - Go Public! Fund Education - is an urgent call for governments to invest in public education, a fundamental human right and public good, and to invest more in teachers, the single most important factor in achieving quality education. This means guaranteeing labour rights and ensuring good working conditions, as well as manageable workloads and competitive salaries for teachers and education workers. It also means valuing teachers, respecting teachers, ensuring they are central to decision-making, and trusting their pedagogical expertise.
Education International and its member organisations were instrumental in the development of the UN Recommendations on the Teaching Profession and are advocating for them to be fully implemented in every country to the benefit of every student.
Click here to find out more about the campaign.
