Ei-iE

The EuroManif demonstration in Strasbourg yesterday saw up to 30,000 trade unionists vent fears that the proposed Services Directive could undermine European jobs and social standards.

EI and other trade union bodies are monitoring the situation in Nepal closely, as hundreds of pro-democracy activists are still detained across the country.

Former general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), and member of EI’s European Committee, Peter Smith, has died at the age of 65.

EI affiliates the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and National Education Authority (NEA) are united in their opposition to proposed budget cuts for education.

Eastern Cape Education Department superintendent-general Dave Edley yesterday promised an investigation to discover how the province published the wrong date for the matric supplementary examinations.

EI affiliate the NTEU is a member of WorkersOut! - a collective of unions and union members who identify as lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and intersex (LGBTI) working together to raise the profile and importance of union membership across the LGBTI community.

A campaign has been launched by the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) to exclude education from the proposed Directive on services in the internal EU market, first presented by the European Commission in Jan 2004.

While both the AFT and NEA agree that the NCLB initiative established laudable goals - high standards, accountability for all, and the belief that all children can learn, regardless of their background or ability - its underfunding and bureaucracy are masking the true progress made in schools.

"Apparently, there is a reciprocal lack of understanding about the crucial importance of fundamental human rights like freedom of expression, that constitute the basis of democratic societies, and on the other hand, the religious feelings of millions of people in Muslim countries," said EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen, when...

President Thabo Mbeki's promise to eliminate fees in the poorest 20% of schools in South Africa is meaningless without a deadline, says EI's affiliate.

With the assistance of EI affiliates, the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the American Psychological Association (APA) is gathering information about teachers' perceptions of professional development in several areas, including classroom management, instructional practices, classroom diversity, family and community outreach, and other teaching skills...

Meeting in the historic city of Sevilla, Spain, last week, the World Confederation of Teachers (WCT) approved the agreement negotiated by the two Executive Boards to join with EI in a new integrated structure.

EI sent a message to the King of Nepal, strongly protesting against the massive arrests of human rights activists, including teachers belonging to its affiliated teacher unions in the country.

A study conducted in April 2005 by the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) shows that the deteriorating working and living conditions of teachers are undermining efforts to achieve Education For All.

"With the increasing multicultural nature of western European societies, new obstacles have emerged for the achievement of LGTB rights. We hear of teachers who no longer dare to be open about their sexual orientation, afraid of hostile reactions by students some of whom are driven by religious fanatism," said EI...

Together with the General Secretary of Spanish affiliate the "Federación de Enseñanza de CC.OO" (FE.CC.OO), EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen met with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Education, Alejandro Tiana, on 31 Jan.

The Jan/Feb 2006 issue of Worlds of Education, Education International’s bi-monthly magazine, is now available.

The Government of Guyana has agreed to meet EI affiliate the Guyana Teachers' Union (GTU) following the `Stress Day' boycott of classrooms.