EDITORIAL — Teachers’ Day

It’s cold comfort to learn that the shortage of teachers is a global problem. An inaugural study conducted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization showed that worldwide, approximately 44 million teachers will be needed to achieve sustainable development goals for universal primary and secondary education by 2030.

“With a few exceptions, the appeal of the teaching profession has declined globally, and education systems struggle to attract and retain teachers,” the UNESCO study said. And the reasons are similar. In countries across all income levels, people are discouraged from joining or staying in the teaching profession by “unattractive salaries, hard working conditions and heavy workloads,” the UNESCO study stated.

It noted that meeting universal education targets has also compelled many governments to hire contract or community teachers who accept less desirable employment terms. The appeal of many other professions requiring similar qualifications but providing higher pay compounds the rising teacher attrition rate.

While the teacher shortage burdens even industrialized countries including the US, lower income states such as the Philippines have a bigger problem hiring or keeping qualified teaching staff. As in the case of health care professionals, advanced economies can afford to augment their teaching force with migrants from lower income countries. The Philippines has been feeling the teacher brain drain for many years now. Feeling overworked and underpaid in their profession, Filipino teachers have accepted work even as household helpers overseas for higher pay.

The teacher shortage means longer hours for those who remain in the country, and larger class sizes that can be unwieldy and unsuitable for learning. President Marcos has reportedly ordered the Department of Education, now under new leadership, to improve the performance of Filipinos in the next edition of the Program for International Student Assessment in which the country will participate.

In working toward this goal, the government can heed the theme of today’s observance of World Teachers’ Day: to value teacher’s voices in educational policy and decision-making, recognizing their pivotal role in shaping the future of education.