Focus on teachers to make the next leap in education

Imagine you are a young boy or girl from a poor rural area, whose family has been struggling to get you to school. Like 50 million others across the world since 2000, you have finally reached the classroom. Now the question you face is simple: what will you learn? The answer, sadly, is not much.

The world faces a deep learning crisis. More and more children are getting to school, but education systems are failing to provide them with the skills and knowledge they need to fulfil their aspirations.

Unesco's new "Education for All Global Monitoring Report" reveals that 250 million children are not acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills, even after years in school. In sub-Saharan Africa – the worst affected region – 40 per cent of young people have had so little or such low-quality education that they are unable to read a sentence.

Girls and women are hit hardest. In South and West Asia, we estimate that women represent two-thirds of the young people who cannot read. In East Asia, by contrast, all students make it over the lowest threshold of learning in countries that have implemented programmes designed to reach marginalised groups, including Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

Discrimination is being exacerbated by the crisis. More fortunate children are taught by teachers with the best training and resources, while the most disadvantaged get teachers with the least training and support.

For years, governments have worked on getting children into the classroom – now we must concentrate on the quality of what they learn, and this means focusing on teachers.

Teachers are essential for tackling the learning crisis. They help promote human rights and dignity, nurture active and engaged citizens, and create the conditions to eliminate poverty and build inclusive, sustainable development.