Funding and the lack of attractiveness of the profession have led UNESCO to estimate that there will be a shortage of 44 million teachers in the world by 2030, a figure which is nonetheless an improvement on the 2016 estimates.

In a report released this Tuesday, on the occasion of World Teachers' Day, which falls on October 5, UNESCO - the United Nations organization dedicated to education and culture - recalls that forecasts in 2016 pointed to a shortage of 69 million teachers in primary and secondary education, about a third more than the revised forecasts.

"The situation has improved, but not enough to guarantee global education needs," says a UNESCO statement, which points to South Asia as the region of the world that has made the most progress in combating teacher shortages, but where 7.8 million teachers are still lacking.

A third of the world's teacher shortages are in sub-Saharan Africa, while Europe and North America, "despite low birth rates", rank third among the regions with the greatest teacher shortages, where 4.8 million professionals are missing.

UNESCO concluded that the lack of attractiveness of the profession results in recruitment difficulties among younger people and in early career dropouts.

"Teachers play a vital role in our societies, yet the profession is facing a huge crisis of vocations. In some regions of the world there is a shortage of candidates. Others face high drop-out rates in the first few years on the job. In both cases, the answer is the same: we need more value, better training and more support for teachers," said UNESCO Secretary-General Audrey Azoulay, quoted in the statement.

In the 79 countries analyzed by UNESCO, the elementary school dropout rate increased from 4.62% in 2015 to 9.06% in 2022. The causes vary and differ from country to country, but there are three factors that stand out: poor working conditions, stress and low wages.

On salaries, the report points out that at a global level only half of the countries pay elementary school teachers the same or more than other professions requiring the same level of qualifications, a situation that is exacerbated in Europe and North America, where secondary school teachers' salaries are 75% or less than other comparable professions.

UNESCO also points out that the dropout rate is higher among men, which is 9.2% in basic education globally, more than double the 4.2% among women.

"This is mainly due to the fact that men have more professional opportunities in other sectors and are able to change careers more easily, as well as gender prejudices, such as beliefs about who should be responsible for children's education," says UNESCO.

Faced with the problem, the United Nations organization recommends seven measures such as investment in initial and continuing teacher training, mentoring programs that promote collaboration between experienced and novice teachers, competitive salaries compared to similar professions and opportunities for career advancement, elimination of bureaucratic work to allow greater focus on teaching, greater work-life balance, mental health care to deal with stress and strong school leadership that values teachers' contributions. (NM)