Teacher shortage a ‘global phenomenon,’ UN agency warns
Global News
The UNESCO report, released Tuesday, comes just before World Teacher Day on Thursday, which UNESCO proclaimed in 1994 to celebrate the work of teachers.
As Canada continues to face a teacher shortage, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) says the issue is a “global phenomenon” and more action must be taken if its goal of primary and secondary education for all is to be reached by 2030.
The new report, released Tuesday, comes just before World Teacher Day on Thursday, which UNESCO proclaimed in 1994 to celebrate the work of teachers.
According to the UN agency, most countries are dealing with the issue with many needing millions more teachers in order to reach its goal.
In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, 15 million teachers are needed, making up the biggest shortfall globally, the report said. Europe and North America — the third largest teacher shortage of all regions — sits at 4.8 million. Another 3.2 million is needed in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In addition, secondary education needs more teachers than primary, the report notes, with about seven out of 10 recruits needed globally.
But, the agency notes, the numbers may not be as concerning as they were seven years ago when its 2016 report said 69 million teachers would be needed.
Several countries have seen improvements to hiring of teachers, with southern Asia seeing the biggest boost by halving its shortfall to 7.8 million.
In trying to determine causes of the teacher shortage, UNESCO conducted research including an analysis of the attrition rate — the proportion of teachers who decide to leave the profession permanently — from 79 countries that included information from different regions and levels of development.