UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, has described teachers as the ‘guardians of our future, noting that in every corner of the world, educators are making choices that echo across generations.

According to her, teachers are influencing everything from the preservation of forests to the writing of poetry, the building of bridges to the holding of peaceful elections.

Ms Mohammed said their work was the beating heart of education, the cornerstone of sustainable development, and the guardians of our future.

Speaking at the opening of the UNESCO World Summit on Teachers in Santiago, Chile, Ms Mohammed called for urgent global action to address the deepening teacher crisis.

“Let us honour their influence with the policies and the respect that teachers need, and future generations deserve,” she urged, laying out a five-point plan to support educators and strengthen education systems worldwide.

The deputy UN chief warned that the world was facing a “deepening teacher crisis” that threatened progress across the Sustainable Development Goals.

“We are failing our teachers,” she said, pointing to a global shortfall of 44 million educators needed to meet universal education targets by 2030.

She described the crisis as “a slow-burning emergency” undermining learning outcomes, widening inequalities, and weakening the social fabric of communities.

“We must respond to those truths,” she said.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay also addressed the summit, stressing the complexity of the challenge.

“No single actor will be able to bridge the gaps we see, and that is what brings us together here in Santiago,” she said.

Ms Azoulay highlighted the multiple causes behind the crisis: low and often delayed salaries, an aging teacher workforce, surging school enrolments without matching resources, and persistent gender inequalities, especially in STEM fields.

She stated that tackling the issues required “level heads and clear thinking.”

“To meet global education goals by 2030, the world must recruit 44 million teachers, more than double the population of Chile. Yet, instead of progress, gains are being reversed. Too many young teachers are leaving within their first years,” Ms Mohammed said, citing low pay, heavy workloads, and lack of professional development.

She added, “Ultimately, we are asking the impossible of teachers: to build the future without the tools, trust and conditions they need.”

The cost of recruiting the teachers needed by 2030 was estimated at 120 billion dollars annually. But education financing is falling short.

“More than 40 per cent of the world’s population lives in countries where governments spend more on debt interest payments than on education or health,” she said.

Aid to education is projected to drop by 25 per cent between 2023 and 2027, with a 12 per cent shortfall recorded in 2024.

(NAN)