The Sad State of World Education. Is There Hope For the Future?

According to new projections from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, world education is in a dire situation. The international community has pledged to provide every child with 12 years of education by 2030. Yet, today, more than 74 countries face an acute shortage of teachers.

Crowded classroom in sub-Saharan Africa

There are about 29 million primary teachers working in classrooms around the world. But to reach every child, the world would need to hire an extra 2.7 million primary school teachers. About 59 million children worldwide are excluded from primary school.

1.4 million teachers are needed today to replace teachers leaving the workforce. 1.3 million are needed to expand access to primary education. Since 1999, at least 28 countries have more than doubled their teacher workforces.




But high ratios of pupil-teacher (exceeding 40:1) keep classrooms overcrowded and an overstretched teaching workforce.

In the sub-Saharan Africa, nearly 7 in 10 countries struggle with an acute shortage of teachers. Most countries with more than 40 pupils per teacher are in sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa alone will need to create 2.2 million new teaching positions by 2030.

By 2020, countries will need to recruit a total of 10.9 million primary teachers. By 2030, the world will need a total of 25.8 million additional primary school teachers

About 51% of total teacher recruitment needed globally by 2030 is in Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, and Pakistan. These countries belong in the E9 group which includes nine of the world’s most populous countries, representing over 50% of the world’s population

Is there hope for the future of world education? Watch the video and write your opinions in the comments section below.

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