We celebrate the professionals who create the future every day in classrooms across the world 🌍
World Teachers’ Day takes place on 5 October. This year, according to Education International, the event is marked by growing concern about the scale and impact of the worldwide teacher shortage. According to UNESCO, 69 million more teachers are needed by 2030 to provide universal basic education, but current trends show that this shortfall is growing and many teachers are leaving the profession. A new study by Education International and the Education and Solidarity Network outlines the main factors behind this defection and solutions for reversing the trend.
Convened by Education International, UNESCO, the International Labour Organization, and UNICEF, the 2023 edition of World Teachers’ Day highlights the global teacher shortage under the theme “The teachers we need for the education we want: The global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage”.
“Today, teachers are overworked, undervalued, and underpaid, and more and more are forced to leave the profession they love and the world needs. At the same time, fewer young people aspire to be teachers. It’s easy to see why. Working conditions have deteriorated, pay has not kept up with inflation, workloads have skyrocketed, and professional autonomy has been steadily replaced with never-ending controls and bureaucracy. Urgent action is imperative because the right to quality education is at stake”
explained David Edwards, Education International General Secretary.
A high-level panel bringing together representatives of international organisations, researchers in occupational health and actors in education and health will discuss this Tuesday 10 October 2023, the health and well-being factors at work of teachers and education staff through the I-BEST 2023 report. The Education and Solidarity Network and the Foundation for Public Health, in partnership with Education International and the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education will present the main findings of the survey and propose, a debate on ways to improve the well-being of education staff around the world.
We therefore invite you to the online presentation of the results of the 2nd edition of the International Barometer of Education Staff’s Health and Well-being.
The upcoming 2023 International Barometer sheds further light on the conditions driving teachers out of the profession. Based on a survey of over 26,000 personnels including teachers, school principals, and support staff from 11 countries across 4 continents, the Barometer findings reveal a concerning rise of workplace violence, coupled with insufficient psychological and medical support for personnel, and significant issues related to work-life balance. A vast majority of education staff surveyed reported that they didn’t feel their profession was valued by society at large. Despite these challenges, the majority of teachers would choose teaching again as a profession.
To find out more about teachers’ working conditions and how to improve the status of the profession to ensure access to quality education for all, come along to the event on 10 October 2023!
The best way to truly celebrate the teaching profession is to ensure that all teachers are respected, valued and paid for the essential work they do.
– David Edwards, General Secretary, Education International
To take action, Education International invite you to call your call on your government to :
Here’s how to add your own voice
