Irish Federation of University Teachers

Monday, 5 October 2009 is World Teachers’ Day. World Teachers’ Day, held annually on 5 October since 1994, commemorates the anniversary of the signing in 1966 of the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers. It is an occasion to celebrate the essential role of teachers in providing quality education at all levels and an occasion to celebrate the immense contribution made by the world’s approximately 55 million teachers to their students, schools and societies.

This year, Education International (EI), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), UNESCO, UNDP and UNICEF have issued a joint statement calling upon governments, communities, national and international institutions everywhere to act decisively to achieve Education for All. In addition, they are seeking mechanisms that protect teachers and ensure that education investments match demand at all levels of education.

“There is an acute shortage of qualified and trained teachers, especially in the developing world where enrolments at all levels are increasing. It is estimated that 2.4 million teachers (1.2 million new teacher posts) will be needed between 2007 and 2015 in sub-Saharan Africa alone to achieve Universal Primary Education. Lack of training, professional development and growing recruitment on a contract basis weaken education quality. But the profession is also gravely affected by poverty, the HIV and AIDS pandemic, natural disasters, conflict and violence against teachers in school”, according to the statement.

The Education International Press Release is available here. The UNESCO Press Release is available here.

The Joint Statement is available here.

The Press Release and Joint Statement are available in other languages on the EI Website, the UNESCO World Teachers’ Day Webpage, the World Teachers’ Day Website and the IFUT World Teachers’ Day 2009 page.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 5th, 2009 at 4:58 and is filed under Africa, EI, International, International Labour Organisation, News, UNESCO, World Teachers' Day. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.