Ei-iE

World Teachers’ Day marks the 50th anniversary of the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the status of teachers, which reaffirms the key role played by the teaching profession in the lives of their students and communities.

“The desire to build equity - in the classroom, in the school and in society at large is the essence, if not the very soul, of the teaching profession,” said Education International (EI) General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen on the occasion of World Teachers’ Day at UNESCO in Paris.

He added that that “there is a social, human dynamic at the core of quality teaching and learning, and that teachers are part of the glue that holds society together.”

The importance of teachers to reach the Sustainable Development Goals

Reflecting on 50 years of the Recommendation, this year’s WTD theme, ‘Valuing Teachers, Improving their Status’, embodies the fundamental principles of the Recommendation while shining a light on the need to support teachers as reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

World Teachers’ Day not only recognises teachers as pivotal to the right to education, but highlights how they are key to achieving the targets set out in SDGs, especially SDG 4 pledging to “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”.

Governments should demonstrate clear political will and commitment through concrete policy, legislative, financing and other measures to implement the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, the 1997 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher Education Teaching Personnel, as well as the new SDG target on teachers. “The same vision and ambition that led to the adoption of these progressive instruments should inspire all of us to implement them to the fullest,” he said.

EI’s core beliefs

Even though the world has changed considerably since the Recommendation was adopted in 1966, the importance of teachers has remained a constant. This is why EI is celebrating the Recommendation’s 50th anniversary given the enduring value and relevance of its ideas on education and the teaching profession.

EI firmly believes that teachers should have the status commensurate with their essential role in educational advancement and the development of humanity and society. In addition, teachers’ organisations should be recognised as forces that contribute to the advancement of education and should be associated with the determination of education policy.

For teachers to be successful, they need the professional space and autonomy to motivate, enlighten and inspire their students, van Leeuwen underlined. They also need safe teaching environments and a decent salary.

He added that EI has worked tirelessly to contribute to quality teaching and to enhance the professionalisation of teachers, for example by launching, three years ago, the Unite for Quality Education campaign, mobilising its members organisations and calling on governments to invest in quality teaching, quality tools and quality environments for teaching and learning.

To read the EI brochure about the 50th anniversary of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO recommendation on the status of teachers, click here.

The 1966 ILO/UNESCO recommendation can be downloaded here.

The joint message from UNESCO, ILO, UNICEF, and the United Nations Development Programme on the occasion of World Teachers’ Day 2016 is also available here.