When I first began my teaching career in Pakistan 20 years ago, a friend of my father said to me: “We were expecting great things from you, Ziauddin. You could have been a political leader or a police chief, but instead you just became a teacher.”
I told the man that if I inspired just one of the children in my class that year to be a leader, one again the next year, and one every year for the rest of my career, I would be very proud of my contribution to our community.
I want to remind the world that educators are nation-builders. If we truly care about our fellow citizens and the future of our communities, countries and world, we must give our full support to well-trained teachers.
But too often our leaders ignore the role of teachers in creating good citizens, growing the economy, improving public health and so much more. In most developing countries, teachers are poorly paid — and sometimes not paid at all. Today in Nigeria, Africa’s richest nation, thousands of teachers in 13 states have not received their salary in months.
As a student in Pakistan, I remember passing the staff room and hearing my teachers talk about not having enough money to take their own children to the doctor or buy their medicine.
My hope is that someday teachers will be as highly regarded as doctors, engineers and computer scientists. But will the best and brightest students become teachers when they know their families will suffer economic hardship for their career choice?
Unesco estimates that 69 million new teachers are needed to get all out-of-school children into classrooms by 2030 [pdf]. Governments often deal with teacher shortages by lowering the standards required to get the job. Developing countries must hire significantly more teachers to meet rising demand — but only qualified teachers can prepare our children to be the leaders we need.
This summer, Malala and I travelled to Maiduguri, Nigeria — the birthplace of Boko Haram. We met dedicated educators and leaders trying hard to keep children in school amid frequent bombings and kidnappings. We also met a teacher who was barely literate himself. He wanted to help his students, but he didn’t have the education or training to give them the skills they need to thrive.
When schools employ trained teachers, fewer students repeat grades and children gain critical thinking skills instead of rote learning and memorisation. Parents are more likely to keep their children in school when they are actually learning. But when poorly trained, poorly paid teachers lead a classroom, more families make the choice to send their children to work or early marriage instead.
Some leaders say they simply can’t afford to hire well-trained teachers. They are failing to understand that education quality directly impacts a nation’s economic growth and prosperity. If a poor country wants to become a rich country, it must invest in education. And investing in education begins with good teachers.
We must also encourage, recruit and train more female teachers. In some communities, particularly regions where female education is a relatively new concept, parents are wary about sending their girls to school with male teachers.
But beyond easing parents’ concerns, women in the classroom lead to girls staying in school longer. Unesco data proves that the percentage of female teachers in primary education correlates to an increase in girls enrolling in secondary education [pdf].
In the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, only 1,400 of 15,500 teachers are women. That is why Malala Fund supports Teach for Afghanistan, a local organisation dedicated to recruiting talented, motivated women graduates to help fill spots in the country’s overcrowded classrooms.
Education is the key to building a safer, healthier, wealthier world. Last month, at the United Nations General Assembly, leaders from countries around the world agreed to increase investment in education. We must begin with teachers.
And to any teachers who may read this: you chose the most rewarding profession in the world. Though you may have hard days, I promise that one day, you will see the results of the time you spend inspiring children. I sometimes hear from students who I taught many years ago. They are now adults leading their communities and I take so much pride in them.
Imagine that you plant a tree in your yard — a short, small, weak stem. Then you move away from this home and you are not there to watch the tree grow. One day you are out for a walk, you pass through your old neighbourhood and you see your old home. But it looks different now. In front of the house, there is a strong, tall tree with many branches and beautiful leaves. You stand in its broad shade for a moment, remembering the little sapling you planted years ago. That is teaching.
Ziauddin Yousafzai and his daughter Malala peacefully resisted the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education in his home country of Pakistan. For 18 years, he was a teacher and administrator of several schools and is now a UN special adviser on global education. He is co-founder of the Malala Fund, which champions every girl’s right to 12 years of free, safe, quality education.
Follow us on Twitter via @GuardianTeach, like us on Facebook, and join the Guardian Teacher Network for the latest articles direct to your inbox
Looking for a teaching job? Or perhaps you need to recruit school staff? Take a look at Guardian Jobs, the education specialist