Ei-iE

From 6-8 March, 40 representatives from both Education International (EI) and Action Aid International (AAI) met in Johannesburg, South Africa in a meeting to discuss mutual co-operation on various issues and reaffirm their strong relations. The meeting was opened by EI President Thulas Nxesi.

UNESCO is calling for candidatures for five International Literacy prizes of US$20 000 each. This year’s theme is “Literacy and Sustainable Development”. One of the awards, the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy, will also grant a study visit to literacy project sites in China.

EI affiliates the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) and the Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement (FSE) invite teachers and principals across the country to walk around in their schools and carry out an audit of fundraising and advertising activities, as part of a National Fundraising Count Day on May 29.

From May 18-23, an international mission composed of officials from Education International (EI), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) will be in Ethiopia to meet with Ethiopian government officials, embassy officials, and detained ETA officials.

EI sent a letter to the Prime Minister of the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia to condemn the government's breach of a wage agreement with teachers.

"European countries have to do a better job in educating immigrant children", said Fred van Leeuwen, General Secretary of Education International in Brussels today.

The South Asia Earthquake struck the Pakistan-administered and parts of the India-administered region of Kashmir on 8 October 2005. It registered a magnitude of 7.6 and caused widespread devastation. Almost 90,000 people died and more than 4 million were directly affected.

Further to the news item dated 10 May, EI issues a letter to the President of Côte d’Ivoire, demading him to open an impartial inquiry into the pillage of SYNESCI headoffice and guarantee the social dialogue with teacher union representatives and the legal undertaking of trade union activities.

EI has relaunched its Urgent Action Appeal for Ethiopia, to bring to the attention of member and partner organisations worldwide the urgent situation its affiliate, the "Ethiopian Teacher Association" (ETA) is now in. The Ethiopian government has repeatedly harassed and threatened the ETA, by dispossessing it of its properties, imprisonning...

EI contacted the President of Côte d'Ivoire to deplore the occupation and devastation of the headoffice of affiliate, the "Syndicat national des enseignants du second degré de Côte d’Ivoire" (SYNESCI) since 4 May. An EI mission conducted at the end of April was not able to confirm the physical security...

EI affiliate, the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF)'s recent study involving elementary and secondary publicly funded schools across Canada has uncovered some startling revelations on the extent of advertising presence and marketing deals in schools in order to offset chronic underfunding of education systems in every province and territory.

EI has been informed that the Government of Macedonia is not intending to honour the wage deal it reached with the teachers' union SONK in February 2006 to be implemented tomorrow, May 10.

The CD-rom includes information on all activities carried out by EI in 2005 to reach the objectives adopted at the EI World Congress:

In support of Nigerien education personnel and their union SNEN, EI voiced its strong protests over the government's unilateral decision to reduce teacher salary in a letter dated 3 May. EI reminds the country's President that teaching is a profession and not a voluntary work.

EI voiced its strong protest to the Prime Minister of Cambodia in a letter dated 2 May against a ban on May Day celebrations by its affiliate, the Cambodian Independent Teachers' Association (CITA).

In Brazil, education personnel and activists join hands in a large-scale mobilisation for the goal of Education For All as part of Global Action Week - an international mobilisation taking place this week.

EI affiliate the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) has criticised the Eastern Cape education department’s initiative to hire mentors and retirees to help solve the education crisis in the province.

Education International (EI) welcomes the UIS (UNESCO Institute for Statistics) report and considers it an important advocacy tool: "It will help us persuade the international community to take the political and strategic decisions required to recruit the qualified teachers that we need to achieve Universal Primary Education by 2015" said...