UN, UNESCO Convene TES+4 to Speed SDG 4, Tackle 44 Million-Teacher Gap
Updated
Updated · Education International · Jul 10
UN, UNESCO Convene TES+4 to Speed SDG 4, Tackle 44 Million-Teacher Gap
1 articles · Updated · Education International · Jul 10
Summary
TES+4 opened as a midpoint review between the 2022 Transforming Education Summit and the 2030 SDG 4 deadline, with UN and UNESCO pressing faster action on education quality, resilience and access.
Fiscal strain, climate shocks, conflict and rapid AI-driven change are driving the urgency, while the summit frames teachers, lifelong learning and inclusive digital transformation as the main levers for reform.
Education International used the meeting to argue that public funding and social dialogue are central to easing the teacher shortage, citing Indonesia’s promotion of more than 1 million contract teachers and certification support for 580,000 others.
Norway’s jointly designed teacher-shortage strategy and Mexico’s 10% pay raise were presented as models, as unions push governments to implement the UN panel’s 59 recommendations on the teaching profession.
As global military spending nears $3 trillion, is the world facing an education funding crisis or a priorities crisis?
Can ancient Pacific wisdom on community resilience offer the solutions our failing modern education systems desperately need?
44 Million Teachers Needed by 2030: Addressing the Global Education Crisis and the Road to SDG 4
Overview
The TES+4 Summit in July 2026 brought together global leaders, including President Cyril Ramaphosa and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, as well as ministers, youth, and civil society, to address the urgent global teacher shortage. Building on the first Transforming Education Summit in 2022, which responded to the escalating crisis by establishing a High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession, the summit called for immediate action to implement key recommendations. The event highlighted the need for investment in teachers and collaboration across sectors, emphasizing that solving the teacher shortage is essential for the future of education worldwide.