In the last 10 years, the percentage of children between the ages of 6 and 15 who have not gone to school has decreased: today, 11.5% of school age children – equal to 123 million; in 2007, 12.8% - or 135 million. Most live in less developed countries (40%), or in conflict zones (20%).
Wars continue to threaten - and reverse - the progress made in the education sector. Conflicts in Iraq and Syria have, for example, translated into a further 3.4 million children who do not attend school, bringing the number of children out of schools in the Middle East and North Africa to 2007 levels, with circa 16 million children. At a global level, 75% of primary and lower secondary school children who are not attending school are in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
However, some progress has been made: over the past 10 years, in Ethiopia and Nigeria, primary school enrollment has grown by more than 15% and circa 19%, respectively.
Teachers are in the midst of world of education's many difficulties and problems. For this reason, the motto of the World Teachers' Day also becomes a challenge because it implies they access quality education and opportunities for continuous professional development. It means, above all, that they have the ability to teach in conditions of physical and personal safety and security in times of political change, instability and conflict.
The World Teachers' Day is, of course, also an opportunity to express our own best wishes to all the teachers of the world and, above all, to the approximately 90,000 teachers working with the Salesians in 3,664 schools, 876 vocational training centers, 85 universities, 280 seminars and 205 centers of adult education, serving over 1.5 million children, teenagers and young people.
