The supply of teachers is failing to keep pace with the demand for primary education. According to the latest UIS data, the world needs to create 1.7 million new teaching posts by 2015 to reach Universal Primary Education (UPE). In addition, 5.1 million teachers are expected to leave the profession and must be replaced. In total, 6.8 million teachers will be needed to ensure every child’s right to basic education.
The UIS has created an interactive info-graphic to illustrate the gap between the supply and demand for teachers by region. The situation is most extreme in sub-Saharan Africa, where the school-aged population continues to rise. More than 1.8 million primary school teachers are required by 2015. In other words, the supply of teachers in the region must increase by 10% every year to meet the goal of UPE. (via Global Action Week 2013)
Nigeria: Extremist attacks hit school attendance (21 May 2013)
EI [Education International] has strongly condemned attacks on Nigerian schools, teachers and students that have kept 15,000 children away from school since last February. News of the attacks by Boko Haram (BH) extremists came from IRIN, the news service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The attacks on state schools in the Borno State, North-Eastern Nigeria, have continued.
Teachers killed and schools burnt down
Most of the affected children are primary school students, according to a Borno State Ministry of Education spokesman. So far, BH has burned or destroyed 50 of the state’s 175 schools, he said. Teachers in the state have confirmed the numbers.
Students are staying at home for fear of attack, or being transferred to private Islamic schools, known in the north as Islamiyya. On 6 May, state schools were officially to reopen following a six-week break, but many have stayed closed, as officials and teachers fear attack.
via Education International - Nigeria: Extremist attacks hit school attendance
The Kenya National Union of Teachers yesterday asked teachers in schools bordering the Kenya-Somali border to stay away until the government guarantees them of security.
This is after five people among them a school teacher were killed last Saturday during the attack on two police posts by Al Shabaab militants …
International aid agency the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has announced grants of $4.2 million to Somaliland and $2.1 million to Puntland to pay teachers’ salaries, the UN Children’s Fund announced Thursday (May 23rd).
The funding will enable the regional governments to compensate and hire teachers, facilitating the enrolment of more children in school.
Teachers' Union in Gambia Explores More Alternatives to Corporal Punishment in Schools
The Gambia Teachers’ Union (GTU) through its women’s wing on Wednesday organised a day’s training for 20 lower basic school teachers on alternative measures to corporal punishment in schools, at its secretariat along MDI Road in Kanifing.
The latest training is among series of others to be organised by the GTU in its bid to discourage corporal punishment in schools and promote the agenda for the attainment of quality education. Through this synergy, the GTU advocates for teachers to adopt other disciplinary measures as opposed to physical punishment, as in line with Principle 1 of the GTU Code of Conduct for teachers.
![[NIGER] NIAMEY , May 20 2013 (IPS) - A decade ago, less than a third of school-aged girls in Niger were in class. Today, though significant cultural and religious opposition remains, nearly two-thirds of girls are enrolled in school.
“Back in 2003, we had only 15 girls at my school, out of 150 students. Now, we have 103 girls out of a total of 175 students,” said Ibrahim Sani, who has taught for 17 years in the town of Agadez, in the northern part of this West African country.
Between 2001 and 2011, Niger’s overall rate of enrolment for girls rose from 29 to 63 percent, according to the Ministry of Education. (via IPS – It Takes a Village to Educate a Girl | Inter Press Service)](http://24.media.tumblr.com/add04f7489bc4433b0dfbed243ef30fd/tumblr_mnayvxvBsE1qb8rnio1_r1_500.png)
[NIGER] NIAMEY , May 20 2013 (IPS) - A decade ago, less than a third of school-aged girls in Niger were in class. Today, though significant cultural and religious opposition remains, nearly two-thirds of girls are enrolled in school.
“Back in 2003, we had only 15 girls at my school, out of 150 students. Now, we have 103 girls out of a total of 175 students,” said Ibrahim Sani, who has taught for 17 years in the town of Agadez, in the northern part of this West African country.
Between 2001 and 2011, Niger’s overall rate of enrolment for girls rose from 29 to 63 percent, according to the Ministry of Education. (via IPS – It Takes a Village to Educate a Girl | Inter Press Service)
![[UNITED STATES] The number of alternative programs nationwide has skyrocketed, rising from 70 programs in the 2000-2001 school year to 658 in 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Education, and these programs now make up 31 percent of all teacher preparation programs in the nation. Yet experts on teacher preparation acknowledge that little is known about which strategies actually work best for developing high-quality teachers. (via Alternative routes to teaching become more popular despite lack of evidence | Hechinger Report)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/6efb62424ac132b57cb49dc94c31ef76/tumblr_mn7bx4W7lJ1qb8rnio1_r1_500.png)
[UNITED STATES] The number of alternative programs nationwide has skyrocketed, rising from 70 programs in the 2000-2001 school year to 658 in 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Education, and these programs now make up 31 percent of all teacher preparation programs in the nation. Yet experts on teacher preparation acknowledge that little is known about which strategies actually work best for developing high-quality teachers. (via Alternative routes to teaching become more popular despite lack of evidence | Hechinger Report)
Education takes a hit in Myanmar’s Kachin State
“The biggest problem is we need more teachers. However, many who are qualified are afraid to work in the area because of the ongoing conflict and the recent attacks,” Haundang said.
Some 47,000 people are in IDP camps in KIA-controlled areas, with thousands more staying with host families, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on 18 April.
Thousands of school-age children have been affected by the conflict, with varying access to education facilities.
In KIA-controlled areas, volunteer teachers have been used to maintain education services for the displaced. However, financial support for this effort is lacking. A comprehensive assessment of the education sector is urgently needed to better determine the number of children in need of education support, gaps in school supplies, and the absorption capacity of existing schools, OCHA said.
Worldwide, 250 million primary school age children are not learning the basics – even though almost half of them are in school. Studies in several countries have shown that many children spend two or three years in school without learning to read a single word. That is why the 2013-14 EFA Global Monitoring Report will focus on recruiting and training effective teachers, who are vital to overcoming the learning gap and providing equitable education for all.
(via Every child needs a good teacher, especially in the early grades | World Education Blog)
Also see here.
Pregnancy, early marriage, school fees, risk of sexual violence? What are the barriers for girls and boys going to school? As the education community envisions post-2015 Millennium Development Goals, IREX surveyed its pool of teacher-leaders alumni around the world to get a better picture of the ways gender impacts education. What impacts girls’ participation in school the most? What particular factors affect boys? Over 200 secondary school teachers from 45 countries responded to our questions. Here are some of the findings from our snapshot survey. (via What Do Teachers Think? Global Gender & Education Survey Results | IREX - Civil Society, Education and Media Development)
