Luanda — Angola needs at least 78,000 teachers to fill the existing void in the education sector, the Minister of Education, Luísa Grilo, said Thursday in Luanda.

The minister made the statement during the celebration of the World Teachers' Day marked on September 05.

According to the minister, the number of teachers would help meet the humanly acceptable ratio for improving teaching and learning in the country.

Angola has a total of 210,000 teachers, a number the minister said to be insufficient to meet the required needs, adding that the challenge is not just for Angola, but global, as more than 44 million teachers are needed worldwide.

The minister said the government is committed to reverse the current picture by holding public tenders every year to integrate roughly 7 to 8, 000 teachers in the education sector.

"We will continue to employ more teachers, especially because conditions require it," the minister said.

The minister spoke of the need to have competent teachers, trained and committed to their profession to achieve quality educations that are up to the challenges of our century.

Luisa Grilo highlighted the government's efforts in pursuing policy to continuously value the teaching staff and to improve their social prestige.

"The World Teacher's Day must be a reflective date, because the transformation of education begins with the teacher", the minister said.

October 5 was proclaimed in 1996 by UNESCO as World Teachers' Day to celebrate the approval of the ILO/UNESCO recommendation on the Status of Teachers. EVC/ART/CF/AMP