African Union calls for faster teacher training

The African Union has urged its member states to speed up efforts to train teachers, emphasizing the importance of improving the recruitment, qualifications, and pay of teaching staff across the continent. This push comes from a recent conference focused on teacher education, where the need for long-term funding and political support was highlighted.

International partners support teacher training

Several international partners are funding teacher training programs in Africa. The European Union, for example, has pledged 100 million euros to support teacher education in sub-Saharan Africa through a program that runs from 2024 to 2030. This initiative includes support for national education policies and teacher development.

Japan funds teacher development in crisis areas

Japan is funding two projects through UNESCO that target specific teacher development needs. One project focuses on creating mobile learning tools for female teachers and school leaders in crisis situations, while the other aims to improve teaching skills in Ethiopian regions affected by conflict.

South Korea supports digital education in Africa

South Korea is funding the third phase of a program to integrate digital technology into education in Africa. This project, worth about four million dollars, focuses on developing digital skills and teaching resources in Tanzania, Namibia, and Uganda.

Africa needs more teachers and better pay

Despite these efforts, African education systems still face major challenges, including the need to recruit more teachers and ensure they are regularly paid. UNESCO estimates that sub-Saharan Africa will need to hire 15 million more teachers by 2030 to meet universal education goals.

Teacher salaries pose a financial challenge

The cost of hiring and paying these teachers is a significant budgetary challenge. UNESCO reports that globally, an additional 120 billion dollars per year will be needed by 2030 to cover teacher salaries for universal education. For sub-Saharan Africa alone, this would require about 6.5 billion dollars annually for primary education and 38.7 billion dollars for secondary education.

Teacher turnover is on the rise

The rate at which teachers leave their positions has increased globally, according to UNESCO. This trend highlights the limitations of relying solely on externally funded projects and underlines the need for countries to include teacher recruitment, salaries, and training in their long-term budgets.