Brussels, 15/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - National governments must think about adopting incentive measures to add value to the teaching profession, or most developing countries will suffer from a lack of qualified staff in the profession in the near future. This was the finding of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) in a report entitled "Teachers matter: attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers". According to the results of surveys carried out by the OECD in 25 countries, many qualified teachers for certain subjects (mathematics, sciences and languages) due to retire soon will be difficult to replace. This is a dangerous situation because, as the OECD stresses, only good quality teaching can boost pupils' levels. The report therefore calls upon governments and the social partners to work together to develop an adequate policy to add value to the profession, with attractive salaries and flexible hours, and getting the teachers more involved in developing the best programmes to face up to the economic and social realities.