Ei-iE

WARSAW — Education trade unionists from across Europe are urging their governments to invest in public education as a smart response to the economic crisis.

In these times of economic crisis, when governments and financial institutions are focused on drastic public spending cuts, it is all the more important that teachers and their unions develop the skills and knowledge to successfully advocate for public investment in quality education.

Education International joins with brothers and sisters in the labour movement around the world in grieving the passing of respected international trade union leader Neil Kearney, who died suddenly on 18 November in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Teacher unions around the world are condemning the kidnapping and brutal murder of an elementary school principal in the Philippines.

Developing countries need to approach current negotiations aimed at liberalizing the trade in services with caution, a high level seminar has concluded.

Backtracking on earlier commitments, the government of India announced last month it will not require foreign educational institutions to meet quotas or adhere to caps on tuition fees.

Following a year-long stalemate, members of the World Intellectual Property Office endorsed a new round of negotiations to develop an international agreement on the protection of traditional knowledge and genetic resources.

Experts are warning that WTO trade rules could affect some measures that countries are taking to combat climate change.

Teacher unions and NGOs, including Education International, have played a critical role in limiting the inclusion of education services in the WTO’s GATS agreement, according to a new book by Antoni Verger of the University of Amsterdam.

At the recent national Congress of Norwegian teacher union Utdanningsforbundet, Education International General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen thanked the union for its extensive development cooperation programme that has “helped strengthen education unions in many low-income countries”.

Are pension reforms reinforcing the gender wage gap and extending it past women’s working lives and in to retirement? What policies can help minimize the differences between men’s and women’s economic wellbeing in old age? These are among the questions examined in a new study by Education International (EI), the...

Mohammad-Reza Rezaie-Garakani was freed on 21 October and Sajad Khaksari was freed on 24 October, 2009. Both of them are now out of prison but are still awaiting trial.

“Teacher lay-offs, education budget cuts and salary cuts, and school closures are unacceptable as policy choices, and in those countries where such measures have been applied, they must be stopped.”

Now, more than ever, governments should be investing in Vocational Education and Training (VET) as part of a constructive response to the global economic crisis, not cutting back on opportunities to train young people, up-skill the current work force, and encourage lifelong learning across society.

Tevita Koroi, President of Fijian Teachers Association, has been officially informed by the Ministry of Education that he will no longer be accepted as the representative of the FTA at major institutional education forums.

Sajad Khaksari, the son of two of Iran’s leading teacher trade unionists, remains in prison in Tehran even though he has been acquitted on all three charges against him.

Education International is once again joining with the Global Call to Action against Poverty and the United Nations Millennium Campaign in supporting the annual Stand Up and Take Action against Poverty campaign.

It was with these words that EI General Secretary, Fred van Leeuwen, concluded his speech at the UNESCO General Conference on 9 October.