Every year on October 5, teachers around the world celebrate International Teachers’ Day. The day will be celebrated under a global theme; The Transformation of Education Begins with Teachers.

Such a day is an opportune moment to reflect on the role of a teacher in society.

Globally, the day is being marked against the backdrop of an acute shortage of teachers needed to drive the ambitious plan to achieve universal basic education by 2030 as spelt out under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The goal is to ensure that by 2030, all girls and boys are able to complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.

However, estimates from UNESCO indicate the need for an additional 24.4 million teachers in primary education and some 44.4 million teachers for secondary education in order to achieve this goal.

The shortage of teachers in classrooms does not mean shortage of professionals on the market. The main challenge, especially in sub-Saharan Africa is the turnover, where teachers are forced to leave the vocation for other more rewarding jobs.

This therefore calls for deliberate efforts to incentivize the teaching profession, not just in terms of pay but also in terms of improving their working conditions.

While we still have a long way to go, in Rwanda, things are moving in the right direction. Just two months ago, government, through the Ministry of Education announced a major increment in teachers’ pay, where primary school teachers got a pay-rise of up to 88 per cent.

This came to supplement other incentives in place, including Umwalimu Sacco, a credit and saving cooperative that is exclusive for teachers, which facilitates practitioners to access cheap loans to start income-generating activities to supplement their salaries, among other advantages.

There is however a long way to go. Other incentives should be introduced for teachers, including having teachers’ quarters in school precincts to help them save not only the money they incur in commute, but also spending on housing.

So while Rwandan teachers will be celebrating their day at a later date, it is still in order to congratulate them on their day as their international colleagues mark the day.