Two decades of World Teachers\\\' Day

The theme of this year's World Teachers' Day is: 'Invest in the Future, Invest in Teachers', which I consider very relevant to the statement made by Laura, the teacher from United Kingdom, as published on the back cover of Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report (GMR2013/4) of the UNESCO. To quote Laura: 'I believe everyone has a right to education: to be literate, numerate and critical; to enjoy learning for learning's sake. I believe everyone has a right to a job and self-sufficiency and that they need the education to do. I believe anything less than my best means that the above things cannot happen.'
World Teachers' Day is a day of right-based hope and determination for the teachers of all the continents, irrespective of language, colour, geography, politics and economy. They may belong to the developed, developing or undeveloped country or region. Today, October 05, teachers will observe World Teachers' Day globally. In some countries, however, the day will be celebrated on different dates. In India, the day is observed on the birthday of late President S. Radha Krishnan on  September 05.  In Bangladesh, the day will not be observed on  October 05 as Eid-Ul-Azha will be celebrated the next day, October 06. The national observance committee in a meeting on  September 23 decided that the programmes of the day will now be held on  October 20.
UNESCO proclaimed World Teachers' Day on October 05, 1994. Earlier in 1966, a special intergovernmental conference convened by the UNESCO in Paris in cooperation with the ILO adopted the ILO-UNESCO recommendations concerning the status of teachers. These include the rights and obligations of teachers, and international standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, teaching and learning conditions. But as the 1966 recommendations did not cover the post-secondary teachers and education personnel specifically, a special session of a joint ILO-UNESCO committee of experts was held in Paris in September 1997, which approved and adopted the recommendations concerning the status of higher education teaching personnel as well.
WHY INVEST IN TEACHERS: In her foreword to EFA Global Monitoring Report (GMR) 2013/4, UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova has rightly said : 'An education system is only as good as its teachers. Unlocking their potential is essential to enhancing the quality of learning. Evidence shows that education quality improves when teachers are supported. ... Governments must step up efforts to recruit an additional 1.6 million teachers to achieve universal primary education by 2015'.
The GMR Report identifies four strategies to provide the best teachers to reach all children with good quality education. First, the right teachers must be selected to reflect their capacity to teach children from diverse backgrounds and varying levels. Second, teachers must be trained to support the weakest learners, starting from the early grades. A third strategy aims to overcome inequalities in learning by allocating the best teachers to the most challenging parts of a country. Lastly, governments must provide teachers with the right mix of incentives to encourage them to remain in the profession and to make sure all children are learning, regardless of their circumstances. But teachers cannot shoulder the responsibility alone. The Report shows also that teachers can only shine in the right context, with well-designed curricula and assessment strategies to improve teaching and learning.
CHANGE FACTORS: The change factors which need to be considered include: 1) transformation of the image of the teacher from GURU to a professional; ii) the gap in the generation of new and old teachers; iii) replacement of the retired teachers by new ones; and iv) recognition of change of values in the societies of all the regions of the world.
TO MAKE TEACHERS EFFECTIVE: The role of the teachers can be made truly effective through: i) self assessment programme on their performances; ii) method for making up deficiency for those who need it; iii) strong motivational campaign to morally boost up the passive teachers through concerted efforts; iv) appropriate teacher-student ratio in class room; v) active involvement of teachers organisations in the campaign; vi) collaboration in teacher-parent school management; vii) autonomy, adequate time and provision in the preparation of the teacher; viii) incentive, recognition and inspiration; ix) effectively addressing gender issue in case of both the learners and the teachers; x) pre-service and in-service training; xi) proper allocation of fund for education.
World Teachers' Day enters two decades of its observance this year. I believe this year's theme, that is, investment for the teachers, will have tremendous influence not only on teachers but all concerned with education, its progress and quality. The individual commitments of teachers and their organised and concerted efforts will pave the way for a new world order in education.  I may conclude quoting Ana, a teacher from Peru. She has said: 'I chose to be a teacher because I believe that education has the power to transform the society we live in. What motivates me to be a good teacher is to be an active agent in this change that is so necessary for my country, to fight against discrimination, injustice, racism, corruption and poverty. Our responsibility as teachers is enormous and our commitment to provide quality education must be renewed everyday.'

Prof. Quazi Faruque Ahmed is Chairman, Initiative for Human Development (IHD), a member organisation of Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE). ihdbd@yahoo.com