As the world gears up for the World Summit on Teachers (WST) in Santiago, Chile, on August 28-29, 2025, the teaching profession stands at a crossroads. Ministers, education leaders, and experts from across the globe are preparing to confront a crisis that threatens to undermine the very foundation of public education: a staggering shortage of qualified teachers. According to UNESCO, the world needs 50 million more teachers by 2030 just to maintain basic education standards for early childhood, primary, and secondary students. That number is not just a statistic—it’s a wake-up call echoing through classrooms from Africa to North America.
The shortage is especially dire in sub-Saharan Africa, where 15 million more teachers are needed, and in Southern Asia, which faces a deficit of 7.8 million. Even Europe and North America, often seen as education strongholds, are not immune, with a combined shortfall of nearly 5 million teachers. These gaps are not just about numbers; they represent millions of children who risk missing out on their right to a quality education. The World Summit on Teachers, convened by UNESCO and hosted by the Chilean government, aims to address this global challenge head-on by advancing the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4: inclusive and equitable quality education for all.
David Edwards, General Secretary of Education International (EI)—the global union federation representing 33 million education workers—put it plainly: “This Summit represents our moment to transform the teaching profession globally.” He went on to emphasize that the solutions are already known: “We have the solutions: fair pay, good working conditions, job security, strong initial education and continuous professional development, and meaningful voice in education decisions. What we need now is governments to commit resources and implement the UN recommendations on the teaching profession. The Chilean government's leadership in hosting this Summit demonstrates the political will we need to see worldwide.”
Education International is not arriving in Santiago empty-handed. Their framework for addressing the teacher shortage is built on concrete, actionable solutions. Teacher representatives from every continent—including Portugal, Senegal, Palestine, South Africa, Lebanon, Australia, Brazil, and the United States—are bringing firsthand accounts of public education systems under pressure. Their message is unified and urgent: only structural transformation, not cosmetic fixes, will reverse the crisis.
Edwards also highlighted the sense of solidarity driving this global movement: “We are united in our determination to ensure every learner, no matter where they live, is taught by a well-supported qualified teacher, and a public education system that empowers them to transform the world.” To set the tone for the summit, Education International will host a Go Public! conversatorio on August 26, 2025, paving the way for two days of intense ministerial dialogues. The summit will culminate on August 29 with the adoption of the Santiago Consensus—a multilateral agreement that outlines shared commitments to transforming the teaching profession and building sustainable education systems worldwide.
The roots of the teaching crisis, as reported by Education International and UNESCO, run deep. While global military spending soared to US$2.4 trillion in 2023, public education budgets have been slashed in many countries. Most governments allocate less than the recommended 6 percent of their GDP and 20 percent of their national budgets to education. The consequences are stark: debt servicing now exceeds education spending in almost 80 percent of countries, affecting more than 6 billion people. As a result, teacher attrition rates have doubled in some regions since 2015, driven by stress, mental health crises, and a systematic erosion of professional wellbeing.
The situation has forced many governments to resort to hiring unqualified teachers or those with minimal training just to fill classroom vacancies. This approach, while expedient in the short term, raises serious concerns about the quality of education and the long-term prospects for students. The World Summit on Teachers builds on the UN recommendations on the teaching profession, released about 18 months ago, which provide a detailed roadmap for tackling the shortage.
Mugwena Maluleke, President of Education International, left no room for doubt about the urgency of the moment. “This crisis is neither inevitable nor irreversible. It demands political will and strategic investment. The recommendations provide the necessary roadmap to tackle the teacher shortage,” Maluleke stated. He continued, “It is now time to move beyond recommendations to action. We need governments to commit resources and implement the recommendations.”
Education International’s message is clear: unless immediate steps are taken to improve recruitment, retention, professional wellbeing, and genuine social dialogue that respects teachers as professionals, the world’s education goals will remain little more than empty promises. Maluleke summed it up: “Education International's message is unequivocal: without immediate action on recruitment, retention, professional wellbeing, and genuine social dialogue that respects teachers as professionals, the world's education goals will remain empty promises.”
The stakes could hardly be higher. As the WST approaches, all eyes are on Santiago to see whether the international community will treat public education as the urgent, achievable priority it is—or allow it to become a distant aspiration. The adoption of the Santiago Consensus on August 29 will serve as a litmus test for the world’s commitment to building sustainable education systems and supporting the teaching profession.
Education International, representing 33 million teachers and education workers through 383 member organizations in 180 countries and territories, is poised to play a pivotal role throughout summit week. Their leaders and teacher representatives from around the world will be available for interviews, ready to share their perspectives and experiences with the global media.
The Go Public! campaign and the summit’s focus on real stories from classrooms worldwide are designed to foster both accountability and hope. The goal is not just to highlight the crisis, but to galvanize political will and investment where it matters most. The message from Santiago will reverberate far beyond the summit halls: the future of public education—and the right of every child to a qualified teacher—depends on what happens next.
As the world watches, the question remains: will governments step up, commit the necessary resources, and turn recommendations into reality? Or will the teacher shortage continue to widen, leaving millions of children behind? For now, the answer lies in the hands of leaders gathering in Santiago, and in the collective resolve of teachers, unions, and advocates determined to transform education for generations to come.
