Ei-iE

Education International has welcomed the move by Costa Rica to make two years of pre-primary education mandatory before primary school in an effort to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal on education.

Education unions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have launched a joint programme for study circles in schools aimed at revitalising teacher trade unionism.

Education International’s affiliates, the American Federation of Teachers and the Union of Education Norway, have strongly rejected US President Trump’s racist comments while speaking about Haiti, El Salvador and unspecified African countries.

In Zambia, a cholera outbreak has led to calls for Government action to help students recover lost learning time following the delayed opening of schools.

Education International has been notified that Tehran teacher union leader Esmail Abdi was released on furlough from Evin prison on 9 January, a temporary reprieve from his six-year sentence.

The Kurdistan Teachers’ Union in Iraq was quick to support colleagues and the education system in eastern and southern Iraq after its devastation by an earthquake late last year.

Following the reshuffle of the UK government by Prime Minister Theresa May, educators have welcomed the nomination of Damian Hinds as Education Secretary, and anticipate an ongoing social dialogue with him.

Australian educators have protested against deteriorating work conditions in the technical and further education sector in Victoria, a direct threat to quality education.

Upcoming events

On December 18-19, 2017 the Polish Teachers' Union and the Foundation for Social Diversity organised a conference in Warsaw entitled "Teachers for high quality education of students and students with migration experience". The conference concluded an 18-month project aiming to improve refugees’ and migrants’ education in Poland. 

 SNUipp-FSU, in collaboration with the NGO Solidarité Laïque and the parents’ association FCPEjust released a child-friendly booklet entitled « We’re above all children: stop false myths about migrants and refugees ».

Education in Scotland is undervalued, according to a recent study undertaken for Education International, which also stresses that public authorities and education policy makers must work with teachers and their unions on professional and national identity.

Teacher unionists in the UK have requested public authorities to explain the term ‘high performing’ schools, and reiterated the need for social justice and social mobility for all young people.

The German education union, Verband Bildung und Erziehung, has reiterated the crucial importance of role models from both genders for school students.

Wishing everyone a prosperous new year, Education International will hit the ground running to start 2018, and, as ever, the global federation of education trade unions will work hard defending the interests of all workers in the education sector, and promoting access to quality public education for all.

UK teacher unions have re-affirmed the Government’s responsibility to acknowledge the need for a fully functioning and quality education system.

Languages should be learned at the earliest educational stage and language studies in Finland must be guaranteed for all.

Education should be at the core of the new Global Compact for Migration, according to Education International, commenting on the importance of a whole-of-society approach to migration at the local and national level.