AFRICA is grappling with a severe shortage of 15 million teachers, a crisis that threatens to derail the continent’s development, according to Mohammed Belhocine, the African Union (AU) Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation. Speaking at a press briefing during the 45th Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council in Accra, Ghana, Belhocine highlighted the urgent need to address this deficit to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in education by 2030.
‘This teacher deficit is immense and requires robust efforts to close the gap and maximise our current investments in education systems,’ stated Belhocine.
To tackle this shortfall, Africa requires an estimated $90bn to improve educational infrastructure and achieve the SDGs on schedule. Belhocine attributed the teacher shortage to the declining social status of the teaching profession, noting, ‘Today, being a businessman is seen as more glamorous than being a teacher, contributing to the gap in teacher supply.’
Belhocine emphasised the importance of rebranding the teaching profession to attract more qualified individuals. Additionally, he proposed leveraging digitalisation as a solution, enabling one teacher to reach more students simultaneously through electronic platforms, thereby easing the burden of the deficit. He stressed that proficiency in information and communications technology should be a key component of teacher training.
Furthermore, Belhocine called for global support to enhance Africa’s educational systems, suggesting that the world may rely on African youth in the future due to declining population growth in other regions.
The 45th Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council, attended by foreign ministers of AU member states, serves as a precursor to the 6th Mid-Year Coordination Meetings of AU heads of state, where these critical issues will be further discussed.
