World Teachers’ Day celebrates the efforts teachers make to education and development of people around the globe. The day is celebrated every year on October 5 to pay tribute and highlight the importance of teachers in a society.
Considered as spiritual father a teacher plays an important part in nourishing a child’s brain. Where parents are responsible for the upbringing of children, teachers play a vital role in helping them use their knowledge and imply them to become valuable citizens of the society.
According to Education International, over 100 countries observe World Teachers’ Day and there are 401 member organisations who have contributed to this event.
UNESCO proclaimed 5 October to be World Teachers’ Day in 1994, celebrating the great step made for teachers on 5 October 1966, when a special intergovernmental conference convened by UNESCO in Paris adopted the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, in cooperation with the ILO.
This recommendation sets forth the rights and responsibilities of teachers as well as international standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, teaching and learning conditions. Since its adoption, the Recommendation has been considered an important set of guidelines to promote teachers’ status in the interest of quality education.
The empowerment of teachers emerged as a priority when the United Nations adopted the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal for Education, said a statement from UNESCO.
It requires teachers to enjoy professional independence, freedom and the tools needed to deliver quality education, which must take into account learners' circumstances, needs and expectations.
UNESCO in a statement acknowledged that crises, conflicts, and insecurity, alongside rising intolerance and discrimination, as well as budgetary restrictions are some of the factors affecting teachers in much of the world, undermining both their freedom and empowerment.
The international community undertook to provide universal primary and secondary education by 2030, and it is estimated that countries will need to recruit 68,8 million primary and secondary education teachers to make this target, added the statement UNESCO.
