About the Teacher Task Force

Education is not possible without an adequate number of qualified and motivated teachers

Created in 2008, upon agreement in the Oslo Declaration, the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030, or Teacher Task Force (TTF), is a unique global independent alliance working solely on teachers and teacher issues. It is dedicated to raising awareness, expanding knowledge and supporting countries on the questions and themes raised in target 4.c of SDG 4.

The TTF members include national governments, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, international development agencies, civil society organizations, private sector organizations, and UN agencies, working together to ensure synergies at national, regional and global levels in the work on teacher and teaching issues.

The objectives of the TTF are anchored in the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 4, the goal dedicated to education, aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”.

The SDG 4 – Education 2030 Framework for Action emphasises that teachers are key to achieving quality, equitable and inclusive education for all by 2030. SDG target 4.c states that, by 2030, we need to “substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and Small Island developing States”.

Much needs to be done to ensure that every learner is taught by a qualified teacher. There is a global shortage of teachers, and particularly qualified ones. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, where teacher shortages are the most acute, countries will need to recruit 15 million teachers to reach the education goals by 2030. Moreover, teacher preparation in the region is an immense challenge — 35 per cent of deployed primary teachers do not meet minimum qualification requirements, and this number reaches 50 per cent for secondary education according to recent data. In many of the world’s poorest countries, governance structures are lacking and there are simply not enough financial resources to ensure that teachers receive the necessary pre- and in-service professional development needed for today’s learners.

Structure of the TTF

To fulfil its mandate, the structure of the TTF includes:

• TTF members
• Steering Committee members and co-Chairs
• Thematic groups
• Regional groups
• The Secretariat, hosted by UNESCO in its Headquarters in Paris

Partnerships

As a global network, the TTF seeks to cooperate substantively with other relevant organisations and networks working on teacher issues such as the SDG-Education 2030 Steering Committee, the Global Education Monitoring Report, and so on. It relies strongly on expertise from academic and research institutions specialized on teachers and teaching.

As part of the new Strategic Plan 2022-2025, TTF Member organizations with a regional remit will be solicited to help raise the profile of the work of the TTF and reach policy-makers. The TTF will work in close partnership with organisations such as the African Union, CONFEMEN, and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) in Africa, the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) in Asia or the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI) in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Funding of the TTF

The TTF is funded by the Governments of France, Germany and Norway, with contributions from the Hamdan Foundation, the LEGO Foundation and the Mastercard Foundation. Further in-kind contributions have been received from Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. More information on our annual budget can be found in our Annual Reports.