The transformation of education begins with teachers

This year's World Teachers' Day celebrations call for urgent global action so they can fully deploy their talent and transform teaching from within.

Teachers are at the centre of every education system. Yet, their profession is still not properly recognized and supported. They face overcrowded classrooms, lack of professional development during their careers, and inadequate funding. Therefore, as it has been doing every year since 1994, UNESCO celebrates World Teachers Day on 5 October to rethink the way ahead for the profession globally.

Poor working conditions, lack of recognition and low salaries are among the reasons why UNESCO and partners are coming together to guarantee that the needs of teachers around the world are fulfilled. Last year, the theme "Teachers at the centre of the recovery of education" focused the debate on the new reality that teachers were facing since 2020: their constant adaptation to changing and uncertain contexts. At the same time, the global crisis revealed that education systems were not prepared to support teachers not only in remote learning but also in their social-emotional well-being to ensure that learning didn’t stop.

Much progress has been made since then. That is why this year, based on the lessons learned to recover education, UNESCO and the co-convening organizations of World Teachers’ Day join forces to ensure that "The transformation of education begins with teachers." The theme goes hand in hand with the commitments and consensus made at the Transforming Education Summit held in September.

What does it take to transform education?

Transforming education requires more teachers. For instance, sub-Saharan Africa alone needs 15 million teachers to achieve SDG 4 by 2030. And it is not just a matter of quantity: qualified teachers are key to quality education. However, 83% of both primary and secondary educators worldwide held the minimum required qualifications, yet in low-income countries, only 70% and 64% did so (UIS-Teacher Task Force, 2021).

The transformation of education begins with the improvement of teachers’ working conditions. The current situation in many countries leads to many leaving the profession or changing careers. On top of that, the insufficient opportunities to develop professionally hinders the task of attracting candidates to a profession that they might find unattractive.

The transformation of education also begins when teachers actively participate in social dialogue, decision-making processes and policies. They need to be heard from the classroom to the policy level.

Finally, there will be no transformation in education without adequate financing to ensure the achievement of the global education targets. A whole-of-government approach to improving conditions for teachers, fostering innovation, and financing education as a public good can increase the supply of qualified teachers and make a quality education workforce sustainable.

• Transforming education from within: current trends in the status and development of teachers, World Teachers’ Day 2022
• For more information on World Teachers’ Day, and how to participate, please visit the event’s webpage.