This blog was submitted by the GPE Secretariat in the framework of the Teacher Task Force #TeachersMissing advocacy campaign to showcase members' good practices in addressing teacher shortages worldwide.   

The shortage of teachers is a crisis undermining education systems globally. To achieve universal primary and secondary education by 2030, 44 million additional teachers are needed. This shortage impacts sub-Saharan Africa the most: on average, there are 56 students per trained teacher.

The consequences of teacher shortages include large class sizes, increased teacher workload and financial strain on school systems, which impact the quality of education.

For GPE, quality teaching is a priority and, as such, GPE aims to invest in quality teachers and teaching in all partner countries.

Continuing teachers’ professional development in Cambodia

In Cambodia, the availability of well-trained teachers remains a critical issue, and teachers have had scant opportunities for professional growth. A GPE grant funded the Ministry of Education’s reform program—Strengthening Teacher Education Programs in Cambodia (STEPCam). Implemented by UNESCO, STEPCam focused on in-service training and mentoring of teachers.

Thanks to STEPCam, 4,000 primary school teachers have been trained in early-grade Khmer and 3,000 in early-grade math. In addition, over 3,000 mentors, school directors and education staff have been trained to support teachers in their professional development. “My mentor taught me the methodologies I lacked,” says Chhay Kimsak, a teacher at Chambok Haer Primary School in Siem Reap. “This helps fill the gaps in my class activities.”

Upskilling primary school teachers in Punjab, Pakistan

The TALEEM program (Transformation in Access, Learning, Equity and Education Management), funded by a GPE $50.6 million grant, is helping the government of Punjab bring more children to school to receive a quality education—by giving teachers the right skills. More than 126,000 primary school teachers had received training on basic teaching skills as of January 2024.

Under TALEEM, the School Education Department set up the Integrated Management Information System (IMIS), a centralized data platform that helps the government better manage the teacher workforce, among other things. In IMIS, a school locator application helps assistant education officers easily find the schools they visit twice monthly to provide feedback to teachers, coach and mentor them, and track their progress, all of which can easily be recorded and shared via the system.

Developing early childhood education in Djibouti

GPE and partners supported the education ministry in developing a new skills framework for preschool teachers—approved in 2022—accompanied by pedagogical guides that encourage learning through play. The primary and lower secondary curricula were also revised to focus on the building blocks of early literacy and numeracy, life skills, and other relevant content.

The program—partly funded by GPE and implemented in partnership with the World Bank and the Education Above All Foundation—supports 252 schools and has trained 2,000 teachers on the revised skills framework and curricula. In addition, classroom observation tools adapted from the World Bank's TEACH/COACH tool serve as a basis for the national preschool inspector and pedagogical advisors to support and monitor teachers. "Although preschool is important, specific practices for this age group are not yet common. So it is necessary to support teachers through in-person and in-classroom training," says Naglah Mohamed, National Preschool Education Inspector.

Improving teaching quality in Nigeria

Nigeria’s North East region has experienced civil armed conflict since 2009, significantly impacting education delivery. With GPE support, the government has increased the number of certified teachers and improved the quality of teaching in three states severely affected by the conflict. In 2021, GPE funding, with UNICEF as grant agent, supported a training program for 18,360 teachers in need of minimum level qualifications.

Also, in partnership with Teaching at the Right Level Africa—which groups children according to learning level rather than age or grade—the GPE-funded project provided over 3,600 teachers with professional development and mentoring to deliver remedial education to children in grades 4–6. Thanks to the project, 176,000 students from 386 schools strengthened their foundational learning skills: after 9 months, only 7% were considered beginners in English (compared to 54% at the start of the program) and 3% in mathematics (compared to 28%). These promising results have led GPE and partners to advocate for more investment to sustain and scale the program.

Increasing the number of female teachers in Yemen

Since 2015, ongoing conflict in the Republic of Yemen has disrupted learning for millions of children, but the majority of out-of-school children are girls. Girls face barriers to education such as early marriage, parental concern about long distances to schools, and unsafe schools. Also, “Most parents do not want their daughters to be taught by male teachers,” says Jawaher, a 16-year-old student at Al-Haj Naser Muthana School for Girls, AlDhale’e Governorate. There is a lack of female teachers, particularly in rural areas.

A GPE program enabled 2,162 female teachers to be hired to work in remote areas. This funding continued support to 1,600 teachers for eight years, and to almost 700 more teachers whose salaries were at risk due to the suspension of a World Bank program. In rural communities, female teachers play a key role in advocacy and outreach to families around the importance of education for girls, and GPE has pledged to support these teachers for another three years through new grants.

Photo credit: GPE/Roun Ry

The #TeachersMissing advocacy campaign is supported by: