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Education International (EI) member organisations from Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines came together in Bangkok on March 7 to discuss and plan the next stage of the Go Public! Fund Education campaign in their countries and the region.

The United Nations Recommendations for a strong and resilient teaching profession featured prominently in the discussions as an essential tool for union advocacy, with participants sharing their experience in promoting the implementation of the recommendations in their respective contexts.

In his opening remarks, Tsukasa Takimoto, Chair of the Education International Asia Pacific Regional Committee, encouraged unions to continue using the United Nations Recommendations in their advocacy for decent working conditions and to end the teacher shortage in the region.

David Edwards, Education International General Secretary, commended EI member organisations for taking the lead in the Go Public! campaign. Edwards also stressed EI’s continued support for its member organisations and its sustained advocacy for public education and the teaching profession at the regional and global levels.

Oktavianto Pasaribu, Deputy Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Country Office for Thailand, Cambodia and Lao People’s Democratic Republic, expressed the ILO’s support of union efforts to ensure the implementation of the UN recommendations. The ILO representative stressed the importance of social and policy dialogue, the need to invest in continuous professional development to give teachers and educators the opportunity to acquire new skills for the digital age, and the imperative need to increase public funding for public education. “The Go Public! Fund Education campaign is a powerful movement to bring systemic change in education. Teachers are the backbone of our education system - investing in teachers and educators is investing in the future of society”, Pasaribu concluded.

Addressing the critical challenges facing the profession across Southeast Asia

Cambodia: Building alliances to stem the teacher shortage

The National Educators’ Association for Development (NEAD) of Cambodia reported severe teacher shortages in the country, with efforts underway to establish clearer policies for contract teachers. NEAD is actively working to address the teacher shortage by engaging with school leaders, communities, and the Ministry of Education to improve the status of teachers.

In 2025, NEAD plans to strengthen cooperation with various national institutions and to advocate for policy on protecting teachers’ rights and mental well-being.

Indonesia: Significant union wins and determined activism

As part of its mobilisation for the Go Public! Fund Education campaign, the Teachers Association of the Republic of Indonesia (PGRI) secured the promotion of 1,009,920 contract teachers to PPPK teachers (government employees with work contracts) from 2021 to 2024.

In addition, PGRI successfully advocated for 580,000 teachers to participate in professional education programmes in order to be certified, with the union supporting educators with training in view of their certification exam. While 1,932,666 teachers in Indonesia are certified, 806,486 educators lack certification.

In 2025, PGRI will continue to advocate for 20% of the budget to be allocated to education, as mandated by the Indonesian constitution. PGRI will also work to ensure the budget is effectively used to improve teacher welfare and competency, school infrastructure, and student learning.

The union is determined to ensure the continuity of the campaign in the long term and to consolidate its position as a long-standing advocate for sustainable education funding and policy reforms. In the next stage, PGRI will focus on developing the Go Public! campaign at the regional level, with region-specific action plans that address local challenges.

Malaysia: Strengthening unions to effect systemic change

The Malaysian Academic Movement (MOVE) highlighted the challenges facing the higher education sector, emphasizing political interference and governance issues, including the chronic suppression of academic freedom through book bans and restrictions on student debates. Corruption and cronyism influence university appointments, disenfranchising academics. The union is focused on recruiting more members and continues to advocate for policy reforms, academic integrity, and financial transparency. MOVE is also speaking up against the misuse of research grants and institutional corruption.

Also in Malaysia, the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) and the Sarawak Teachers Union (STU) are focusing on enhancing teachers’ voice and participation and are conducting leadership training.

The Philippines: Severe teacher shortage demands improved working conditions

In the Philippines, the education system faces a deep crisis, with significant teacher shortages, poor budget use, and a high dropout rate in tertiary education.

Between 2018 and 2022, only 35.3% of the budget allocated for instructional materials was used, reflecting inefficiencies in budget execution. Additionally, 43,014 teaching positions remain vacant. It is estimated that 86,000 more teachers are needed in order to meet a 1:30 teacher-student ratio. A dismal passing rate in licensure exams (33% for elementary education, 40% for secondary education student teachers) further exacerbates the crisis.

Education International members in the Philippines continue to push for higher salaries, improved working conditions, and collective bargaining rights while also addressing teacher migration issues.

Singapore: Union supports teachers cope with increasing professional demands

The Singapore Teachers’ Union (STU) is focused on improving teacher appraisal transparency, flexible work arrangements, and support for professional development. STU provides career coaching, legal advisory services, and mental health counseling to support teachers in an increasingly demanding profession.

Campaign insights and strategies from colleagues in the wider region

Unionists from Mongolia and Nepal shared the successful strategies they employ in the Go Public! Fund Education campaign in their country.

Mongolia: Strengthening the union, the profession, and public education

The Federation of Mongolian Education and Science Unions (FMESU) secured significant advances for the teaching profession and for education by deploying a strategy focused on capacity building, advocacy, and enforcing the collective agreement. In 2024 alone, as part of the Go Public! Campaign, FMESU organised 33 advocacy and dissemination activities that involved 14,000 union members both in the capital and in the regions.

The union’s mobilisation and organisation efforts led to important wins, including salary increases between 15 and 30%, better meals for children in preschool, an increased meal allowance for teachers, and better financial support for public universities.

The campaign also helped the union grow its membership by 20%, thus further strengthening its position in negotiations with the government.

Nepal: Union campaign raises public support for teachers

Nepal is currently facing a shortage of over 65,000 teachers, particularly at lower secondary and secondary levels. Furthermore, 12.6% of permanent positions are filled by temporary teachers, indicating a significant vacancy rate.

Under the Go Public! Fund Education banner, EI member organisations in Nepal are calling on their government to guarantee competitive salaries for teachers to improve recruitment and retention, making the profession more attractive and rewarding.

By building their capacity for campaigning, lobbying political parties, engaging with the media, and developing the campaign at the local level, the unions have raised awareness of the teacher shortage, they have secured increased public support for teachers, and have taken significant steps forward in their negotiations with federal and local authorities.

Go Public! Fund Education 2025

The 10 unions from 5 countries of the ASEAN sub-region discussed their campaign plans for 2025. Many of the unions are focusing their efforts on increasing education funding, expanding the provision of continuous professional development opportunities, ensuring decent working conditions, and strengthening collective bargaining. Unions also aim to implement Recommendation 48 of the United Nations which focuses on strong and continuous social and policy dialogue in the sector.

“With a shortage of 4.5 million teachers, the future of children in ASEAN countries is at risk. This is not just a shortfall; it is a crisis of unmet potential, requiring urgent and substantial public investment” noted Anand Singh, Regional Director of Education International Asia Pacific.

Singh emphasised the critical need for increased public funding for education across Southeast Asia, warning that daily inaction will only deepen educational inequality. He added that the Go Public! Fund Education campaign is not only a call to action for governments, it is also a movement led by education unions to strengthen public education and the teaching profession to the benefit of all students and communities across the region.