This is the UN press release released on 26 February 2024 on the occasion of the launch of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession during the Teacher Task Force 14th Policy Dialogue Forum.

Recommendations from the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession, aimed at transforming the future of the teaching profession, were launched today at the 14th Policy Dialogue Forum of the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 (TTF).

“Teachers are central to nurturing every country’s greatest resource: the minds of its people. Yet today, we face a dramatic shortage of teachers worldwide, and millions of teachers who lack the support, skills and continuing training they need to meet the demands of rapidly changing education systems,: said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Building on the landmark UN Summit on Transforming Education in 2022 and supported jointly by the ILO and UNESCO, the High-Level Panel’s recommendations are based on six core imperatives, covering dignity, humanity, diversity, equity and inclusion, quality, innovation and leadership and sustainability.

“The High-Level Panel’s wide-ranging recommendations are premised on the need to value and respect the teaching profession – this requires decent working conditions, competitive wages, space for teacher voice in decision-making and opportunities for development and innovation,” said Paula Mae Weekes, Co-Chair of the Panel and former President of Trinidad and Tobago.

The recommendations are intended to create an enabling environment that allows teachers to become drivers of change in education, who can help learners critically navigate knowledge and gain the skills and competencies needed in today’s world. Teachers should not be simple conveyers of information but active and collaborative partners for learners, the Panel noted. Adequate financing of education systems and effective integration of technology for learning were cross-cutting themes in the development of the recommendations.

“Technology holds tremendous potential for both teaching and learning so long as it is put to use in ways that are supportive of teacher inputs over its pedagogical use, the integrity of the profession and is equitably integrated,” said Kersti Kaljulaid, Co-Chair of the Panel and former President of Estonia.

With new data from UNESCO showing that some 44 million primary and secondary teachers will be needed by 2030 to reach Sustainable Development Goal targets on education, issues of teacher working conditions, wages, autonomy, initial training and continuous professional development all featured heavily on discussions of teacher recruitment and retention. Panellists condemned the use of precarious teaching contracts and austerity policies that undermine teacher working conditions and the quality of education. Further recommendations relate to ensuring gender equity, promoting sustainable development and supporting teacher leadership. A push for greater diversity and inclusion in the teaching workforce, as well as greater social dialogue among partners on both the national and international levels were highlighted.

The full report of the High-Level Panel can be found here.

About:

The High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession was established by the UN Secretary-General in response to challenges facing the teaching profession and education systems worldwide, and as a key follow-up to the UN Transforming Education Summit of 2022.  The panel was supported jointly by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The 18 panel members include government ministers of education and labour, representatives of teacher trade unions, academics, civil society leaders and teachers and students representing every continent.

More information is available here: www.ilo.org/global/industries-and-sectors/education/teaching-profession

Media Contacts (interviews available upon request)

ILO: newsroom@ilo.org

UNESCO: Clare O’Hagan, c.o-hagan@unesco.org , +33145681729

In its 2022 advocacy brief, the Teacher Task Force brought to the forefront the work and recommendations coming out of the Transforming Education Summit, especially concerning the thematic action track on teachers. An essential observation came out of the work and reflections of all partners and Member States - there is a clear need for global initiatives on national teacher policies.

On 19 June 2023 the United Nations Secretary-General announced the establishment of a High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession which will build on the outcomes of the Transforming Education Summit to ensure that every learner has access to a professionally trained, qualified, and well-supported teacher who can thrive within a transformed education system. 

"We are facing an extraordinary global teacher shortage. 16.5 million primary and secondary education teachers need to be recruited in sub-Saharan Africa alone. We need to accelerate our efforts to improve the status of teachers and their working conditions to make the profession more attractive. The establishment of the High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession marks a crucial milestone in our efforts towards this goal. The recommendations of this diverse panel of experts and stakeholders will support meaningful change and ensure every learner has a well-supported and qualified teacher," says Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education.

Supported by a joint UNESCO – International Labour Organization (ILO) Secretariat, the Panel will draw together ministries, teachers, students, unions, civil society, the private sector, and academia. The Panel’s report will serve as a contribution to broader efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4, as an input to ongoing preparations for the 2024 Summit of the Future and help advance follow-up on the Transforming Education Summit.

As it did during the Transforming Education Summit, the Teacher Task Force will utilize its extensive and diverse network of stakeholders to harness knowledge, expertise, and resources in support of the High-level Panel. The first UNESCO-Teacher Task Force Global Report on Teachers, scheduled for release later this year, will both draw from the Panel's work and contribute valuable insights to it.

The Teacher Task Force will be represented at the High-level Panel by one of its co-Chairs, Ms Matsie Angelina Motshekga, Minister of Basic Education of South Africa, and will benefit from the contributions of TTF Steering Committee members; namely, ILO, and Education International.

The Teacher Task Force and its network are fully dedicated to providing support to the Panel and the recommendations that will be issued for the overall advancement of the teaching profession.

• More on the High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession 
• Read the Teacher Task Force Advocacy brief which summarizes the main issues and recommendations which were developed as part of the third thematic Action Track on “Teachers, teaching and the teaching profession” of the Transforming Education Summit and proposed concrete strategies and recommendations
• Read the discussion paper on teachers identifying the ambitions, challenges, opportunities and possible solutions for the teaching profession prepared for the 2022 UN Transforming Education Summit

Photo credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten