Who will teach us tomorrow?

The world is running out of teachers, and that's always a bad sign. Young people are losing their desire to teach due to poor working conditions, the low social status of teaching, and insecurity, and they're dropping out to pursue other careers.

According to a UNESCO report, 44 million additional teachers are needed worldwide to ensure quality education in all countries by 2030.

Most teachers are needed at the secondary school level, and more than half of them are needed to replace those who are leaving the profession.

Cecilia Espinosa, director of the SM Foundation in Mexico, said in an interview that the report's results highlight specific issues in Mexico's education system.

The profession often has more to do with vocation and an attitude of service than with financial compensation. "What's wrong with us is that teachers are demotivated, undervalued, and in a rut that will be difficult to break if we don't set a course of action," he said.

According to the report, teacher quality is one of the most important factors influencing learning. How many of us decide whether or not to study a subject based on how a teacher taught?

That's why the rapid growth in dropout rates is worrying, having doubled between 2015 and 2022, rising from 4.6% to 9% during that period.

Initially, the effect of a reduction in the number of available teachers will be that learning groups will become increasingly larger, affecting performance and the quality of what is taught.

While the most pressing needs are in Africa and South Asia, the teacher shortage in Latin America and the Caribbean is 3.2 million.

In Mexico, there is not yet a specific crisis as severe as in other parts of the world, but a shortage in the hiring of secondary school teachers is beginning to be noticed.

“The more specialized the teaching, the more difficult it is to find teachers,” Espinosa said.

The trends in other countries should raise alarm, especially because what's required is sustainable conditions, so long-term actions must be implemented.

Cecilia Espinosa explains the deterioration of society's relationship with teachers due to a change in access to information.

"Before, the teacher entered a classroom and was the possessor of all knowledge. Now, they are a companion, because information and knowledge can be much more accessible," he said.

A school is a representation of our community and what it's building. Here's the real question: what will we do when we have no one to guide those who come? Walking blindly in a world where misinformation abounds isn't the best of omens.

@Micmoya