PARIS 5 October 2009 – A chorus of United Nations officials today warned governments of the dangers in slashing education budgets in the face of the ongoing global economic recession, spotlighting the critical shortage of trained teachers.
Over 10 million teachers need to be recruited worldwide to reach the internationally agreed target of reaching universal primary education by 2015, according to new figures released by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
In a message marking the 15th anniversary of World Teachers Day, observed annually on 5 October, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura underscored the tremendous efforts many countries are making to meet that target, set out in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
-But they will not make it without recruiting and training many more teachers, said Mr. Matsuura. -We cannot let the financial and economic crisis cut into education budgets.
He noted that lower spending on education will have dramatic short and long-term consequences on the quality of education, expressing particular concern over the 22 per cent drop in aid to basic education in 2006 and 2007 which threatens progress in low income countries.
Over half of the 45 sub-Saharan African countries face a deep teacher gap, according to the new projections from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. These countries need to increase the number of employed teachers by almost 50 per cent – from 2.6 million to 3.7 million – in the eight-year period leading to 2015.
-Learning conditions are already very tough in many countries, added Nicholas Burnett, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Education. -Higher pupil-teacher ratios, heavier workloads for teachers, freezes on their recruitment and lack of training could aggravate the quality deficit that already exists.
Without investing in education, especially investing in teachers, economic recovery is unattainable, said Mr. Burnett.
In a joint statement marking the Day, the chief executives of UNESCO, International Labour Organization (ILO), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Education International said that the 21st century “calls for new approaches to learning, innovative thinking, the acquisition of specific knowledge about the environment, health and citizenship and the promotion of ethical values and attitudes.
-The ability of education systems to respond effectively to the needs of today’s learners depends largely on the action that is taken now to recruit, train and support teachers and to ensure decent work for them, the statement read.
Despite determined efforts by governments in developing countries to protect education budgets, sharp drops in fiscal revenue and the prospect of reduced external aid could seriously undermine national efforts to expand, or even sustain, a quality education system.
According to UNESCO, Mexico is among the countries to introduce a stimulus package that provides for improving educational infrastructure, while Egypt has voted on a budget that increases education expenditure. Ghana, however, has frozen teacher recruitment and Pakistan has cut its budget for elementary education.
World Teachers Day commemorates the anniversary of the signing in 1966 of the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers and celebrates the role of teachers in providing quality education at all levels.
