<
 
 
 
 
×
>
You are viewing an archived web page, collected at the request of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) using Archive-It. This page was captured on 17:35:16 Oct 26, 2016, and is part of the UNESCO collection. The information on this web page may be out of date. See All versions of this archived page.
Loading media information hide
  UNESCO.ORG The Organization Education Natural Sciences Social Sciences Culture Communication & Information
English
UNESCO Home > Education Home > Education Today
Education All UNESCO Advanced Search
EDUCATION EDUCATION HOME
January - March 2005

Edito
Learning World
LEARNING WORLD
Focus
FOCUS
Education for All
Education for All by 2015
Briefs
BRIEFS
Bookshelf Agenda
Download the Newsletter
Arabic - Chinese - English
French - Spanish - Russian

 


  WANTED! TEACHERS

Thirty million teachers are needed to achieve Education for All by 2015. Faced with an unprecedented teacher shortage, some countries are now turning to low-paid, poorly trained teachers. Focus, a four-page dossier, looks at the trade-off between quantity and quality.

Wanted-Teachers.jpgEDITO - The success or failure in meeting the international target of Education for All by 2015 will depend largely on the action of governments to improve the quantity and quality of the teaching force.

But, as the dossier in this issue points out, the shortage of teachers in both North and South is reaching unprecedented levels. This can be explained by an increasingly challenging and poorly-paid profession which no longer attracts the most talented. While education experts agree that teachers are key to ensuring good quality education, their status, working conditions, career perspectives and professional development have not ceased to plummet.

It is estimated that more than 30 million new teachers will be needed to achieve the goal of Education for All by 2015. In a drive to accelerate recruitment while limiting public spending, some countries are having to recourse to low-paid, poorly trained ‘voluntary’ teachers. Started in the 1980s in the context of structural adjustment policies, the practice has taken root in many countries.

Let us not delude ourselves. Without qualified, competent, motivated and performing teachers, Education for All will not be achieved. Quality must not become the hostage of quantity.

Yet, the guiding principles exist. The 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers sets out standards on numerous issues relating to professional, social, ethical and material concerns of teachers. Although it is almost forty years old, this document is as valid today as it was then.

More recently, the Framework for Action adopted by over 160 countries at the World Education Forum in Dakar in 2000 indicates the three ingredients of quality education: well-trained teachers, a curriculum that builds upon the knowledge and experience of teachers and learners, and participatory governance and management.


Aïcha Bah Diallo
Acting Assistant Director-General for Education
   

:: 2006
 

EDUCATING FOR TOMORROW WORLD
February - May 2006
:: 2005
 

WANTED! TEACHERS
January - March 2005
:: 2004
 

SCIENCE EDUCATION IN DANGER?
October - December 2004
THE PRICE OF SCHOOL FEES
July - September 2004
EDUCATING RURAL PEOPLE
April - June 2004
EDUCATION MINISTERS SPEAK OUT
January - March 2004
:: 2003
 

NEW TECHNOLOGIES: MIRAGE OR MIRACLE?
October - December 2003
THE MOTHER-TONGUE DILEMMA
July - September 2003
EDUCATION: WHO PAYS?
April - June 2003
EDUCATING TEENAGERS
January - March 2003
:: 2002
 

HIGHER EDUCATION FOR SALE
October - December 2002

LITERACY? YES. BUT WHEN?
July - September 2002

EDUCATION FOR WAR OR FOR PEACE?
April - June 2002

guest (Read)
About UNESCOContact the WEBMASTER    ID: 37695