World Teachers' Day: Recovery begins with teachers
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Quazi Faruque Ahmed
TODAY is October 5. Teachers and education staff world over observe the day as 'World Teachers' Day' since 1994. On this day in 1966, UNESCO adopted the Recommendations Concerning the Status of Teachers at its special intergovernmental conference held in Paris which was later approved by ILO. But as the recommendations did not cover the post of secondary teachers and education personnel specifically, a special session of the Committee of Experts (joint ILO-UNESCO Committee) was held in Paris from 15 to 18 September 1997 which approved and adopted the Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher Education Teaching Personnel as well. Taking into account both the formulations together, the 'Recommendation' is immensely important due to its wide-ranging significance and implications in regard to educators in particular and education in general. Teachers' organizations adopt series of programmes in various countries to commemorate the day. The aim is to mobilise support for teachers and to ensure that the needs of future generations will continue to be met by teachers. This year a new impetus has been added in the celebration of the day due to recession and natural calamity. Hundreds of thousands of students, parents and activists around the world will pay homage to teachers who have been directly or indirectly affected by a major crisis -- be it a humanitarian crisis, such as the earthquakes in Haiti and China, floods in Pakistan and Nigeria or the global economic crisis that has devastated many developed economies over the past year.
How World Teachers' Day evolved
Dr. Quincy Lettsome, a veteran teacher leader, says in a recent article: "What is now known as 'World Teachers' Day' evolved after a number of administrative and legal procedures by teacher organizations throughout the world. The Day was first referred to as International Teachers' Day; then probably with such events as the fall of the Berlin Wall, it was changed to World Teachers' Day which included all teachers throughout the world." Dr. Quincy Lettsome further says that he was a delegate and as president represented the BVI Teachers' Union. There in Geneva, Switzerland during 1982, he made the proposal which later materialized as the World Teachers' Day. This proposal was made in the forum of a three-day workshop, which followed the then World Confederation of the Teaching Profession (WCOTP) Assembly, which was convened earlier in Switzerland. The proposal was made on the premise that there are days to honour mothers and fathers, and then there should be a Day set aside to honour Teachers. This suggestion of Dr. Quincy Lettsome was passed unanimously.
I contacted Robert M. Barker, the former Director of International Programmes of Canadian Teachers Federation (CTF) and also a veteran senior leader of World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession (WCOTP) for a long time, to ascertain the authenticity of Dr. Quincy's claim. Robert Barker, with whom I am acquainted for the last three decades, sent a clarification in e mail, which reads in the main:
"I do recall the name Quincy Lettsome... In the 1980's, CTF had a great number of projects in the Caribbean, including some in the British Virgin Islands. I would have to look extensively in my files in order to ascertain just what the role of Quincy Lettsome was at the time. However, I have no reason to disbelieve that he was engaged with the BVITA during this period and that he represented the island at the WCOTP Assembly in Switzerland in 1982. 1 did not attend the pre Assembly seminar in Geneva to which he refers and have no way of knowing what formality his suggestion took... As I recall, WCOTP was a proponent of the idea of a recognized "teachers' day" but where the notion actually came from, I don't know. It probably came from many different sources, perhaps including Quincy Lettsome's suggestion in 1982. 1 am quite certain that the appeal was made by WCOTP (and possibly only with IFFTU and WCT) to UNESCO. I am not sure of the date UNESCO actually made it official, but it has been celebrated officially, on October 5 since 1994. Education International came into being in January, 1993 and it seems to be clear that the El has been an ever increasingly strong proponent of World Teachers' Day since its inception."
Four features of 1966 and 1997 'Recommendation':
l "Since education is a service of fundamental importance it should be recognized as a responsibility of the state."
l "Teachers' organizations should be recognized as a force which can contribute greatly to educational advance and … therefore should be associated with the determination of education policy."
l "Teachers' salaries should … reflect the importance… of the teaching function and hence the importance o teachers as well as the responsibilities … which fall upon them from the time of their entry.
l "Teaching in higher education requires expert knowledge and specialized skills acquired and maintained through rigorous and lifelong study and research."
Theme of the Day, 2010
The main theme of the 'Day' this year is: "Recovery begins with teachers". It has a background that refers to the appeal to the US President Barrack Obama on June 21, this year by the presidents of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and National Education Association (NEA), the two prominent teachers' organisations of the United States. In the appeal AFT President Randi Weingarten and NEA President Dennis Van Roekel said inter alia: "As the twin G8 and G20 Summits in Canada fast approach, we are anticipating robust debates and resolutions on the best ways to guide the world's nations out of recession. The theme "Recovery and New Beginnings" could not be more appropriate. We are taking this rather unusual action of sending you a joint letter because of our concern that premature reductions and, in some cases, drastic cuts in public expenditures for education are being made by governments around the globe. We request that you exercise your leadership role at these international meetings to impress upon fellow world leaders that education must not be seen as an expensive drain on their economies, but as a high return investment -- the heart and soul of recovery and new beginnings. In order to give nations around the globe a chance to emerge from this recession we need highly trained and capable teachers. It is clear that the way to rebuild our world economy is to increase funding for education, not cut it. Investing in education will spur innovation that will produce solutions to the many problems we confront."
This appeal was followed by a call to G20 to promote quality education with teachers by the presidents of Education International (EI) and the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) to support a new global partnership for teacher education and professional development. El President Susan Hopgood said: "We are to face a worldwide shortage of more than 10 million teachers over the next five years. Millions more need support to become qualified and develop their professional skills. Qualified teachers are the key to quality in education, and countries need an unprecedented global partnership to invest in education." Supporting this call, the CTF President, Mary Lou Donnelly, explained that Canadian teachers had worked for years to run in service training programs for their colleagues in developing countries with funding provided by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). "We are deeply committed to helping teachers, and Canada has tremendous experience to offer a new global partnership," she said.
These initiatives are inseparably linked as the US House of Representatives has voted to approve new legislation that will inject more than $10 billion in aid to states and school districts to save education jobs that were threatened by budget cuts. The bill will now be signed into law by President Obama and it will hopefully create an historic precedent of how education can become the solution, not the problem, in a time of global crisis. However, such decisions should need to be taken everywhere in the present globalised world.
Relevance to Bangladesh context
Teachers and education employees of Bangladesh fully echo the contents and inherent emotions in the appeal and call as stated above. Although the Bangladesh context is not entirely same where world economic recession did not affect the economy to the extent it was apprehended. Its resultant effect in education also is visible. No major incidents of retrenchment have taken place during the last 18 months. On other hand, 32,750 new teachers have joined in primary schools. Government subvention to teachers of non government schools, colleges and technical education institutions, which was stopped during the Four-Party Alliance government has also been resumed. About 30,000 teachers in 1600 institutions have also been included in the monthly pay roll from the national exchequer. Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education has recommended to bring 1500 more non-government educational institutions under the monthly pay order (MPO).
In the mean time, the new National Education Policy has been approved by the government and a 32-member committee has been formed for its implementation and monitoring with teachers' representative. Up till now it's a new practice in Bangladesh. Again, 56% of the teachers and employees, who lost their jobs during the past regime, have been reinstated. Non-government teachers and education employees have been included in the new national pay-scale of 2009 and for that no action programme was needed this time as that of previous government. Teachers and Employees Welfare Fund and Retirement Benefit Board have also been reorgamised.
But despite all these positive steps, teachers still continue to be deprived of due promotions and their service conditions have not been amended till now. Government decision of 1994 to introduce service conditions for non-teaching employees has also yet to be implemented. On the other hand, teachers' recruitment policy remains unchanged and Public Service Commission for their recruitment has not yet been initiated. It seems that educators and the education staff shall have to get more organised and articulated for the implementation of the UNESCO ILO Recommen-dations concerning their rights and status.
The role of EI in Bangladesh
On World Teachers' Day, teachers and education employees in Bangladesh express their solidarity with the international teaching community. National Front of Teachers and Employees (NFTE), the united platform of eleven associations and unions representing teachers and education employees in 30 thousand educational institutions, celebrate the day through rally, discussion meeting, distribution of printed articles on teachers' status, dignity and role in improving the standard of education. This year NFTE has programmes to pay respect to the elderly and retired teachers, head teachers and text-book authors in 64 administrative districts. NFTE uses information materials of UNESCO, ILO, UNICEF and UNDP, along with those of EI. NFTE is not affiliated with EI. However, two components of NFTE are affiliated with World Confederation of Orgamizations of the Teaching Profession (WCOTP) the predecessor of Education International.
NFTE highly appreciates the awareness programme and information materials of EL. Though member organizations of NFTE are of the opinion that EI did not play its proper role when half a million teachers and education employees of Bangladesh suffered most from 2001 to 2008 -- more than 2000 teachers and education staff either lost their jobs or were debarred from entering their own institutions and salaries of about 50 thousand teachers and staff were stopped without showing any reason in most cases. The Education Ministry violated the provisions, especially of 09, 10, 46, 47, 49, 61, 62, 63, 71, 72, 731, 82, 89, 90, 115, 117 of UNESCO ILO Recommendations. On January 08, 2005 alone, 09 orders ware issued to stop due salaries, higher scale and increment on seniority and promotion. NFTE initiated measures for redress of the miseries of the distressed teachers and employees and stop repression on them which included legal assistance and organising programmes like press conference, exchange meeting with professionals and guardians, street processions, token strike, one to three hours of hunger strike, submission of memorandum to the then Prime Minister, written with the blood by NFTE leaders, hunger strike programme unto death, meeting with the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament and indefinite strike in the end. Writ petitions were filed by the affected persons which restored their salaries.
NFTE, along with the teachers and education employees, sincerely expected that EI would extend support and act in favour of the sufferers in their hours of crisis. But unfortunately nothing like that happened. Not any one from EI contacted NFTE, but UNESCO and ILO jointly arranged a seminar on December 29, 2005 on assessing service rules and conditions for teachers and staff of non government post-primary educational institutions in Bangladesh. The then Education Minister and the Director General of Education did not attend the seminar in spite of their prior consent to the organisers. Representatives of NFTE participated as usual in the seminar.
However, the laudable role of Education International for the cause of teachers in different parts of the world deserves appreciation in spite of the alleged lapse in the case of Bangladesh. Teachers and education employees of Bangladesh also sincerely admit the immense contribution of EL and place it in high esteem. During the celebration of World Teachers' Day programmes this year the organisers and participants will once again quote and discuss points from the information materials of EI, giving due credence to it.
Professor Quazi Faruque Ahmed is the Chairman, Initiative for Human Development ( I H D ) and Chief coordinator, National Front of Teachers & Employees (NFTE) Bangladesh. e- mail.
principalqfahmed@yahoo.com/
ihddhakx&hotmail.com
TODAY is October 5. Teachers and education staff world over observe the day as 'World Teachers' Day' since 1994. On this day in 1966, UNESCO adopted the Recommendations Concerning the Status of Teachers at its special intergovernmental conference held in Paris which was later approved by ILO. But as the recommendations did not cover the post of secondary teachers and education personnel specifically, a special session of the Committee of Experts (joint ILO-UNESCO Committee) was held in Paris from 15 to 18 September 1997 which approved and adopted the Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher Education Teaching Personnel as well. Taking into account both the formulations together, the 'Recommendation' is immensely important due to its wide-ranging significance and implications in regard to educators in particular and education in general. Teachers' organizations adopt series of programmes in various countries to commemorate the day. The aim is to mobilise support for teachers and to ensure that the needs of future generations will continue to be met by teachers. This year a new impetus has been added in the celebration of the day due to recession and natural calamity. Hundreds of thousands of students, parents and activists around the world will pay homage to teachers who have been directly or indirectly affected by a major crisis -- be it a humanitarian crisis, such as the earthquakes in Haiti and China, floods in Pakistan and Nigeria or the global economic crisis that has devastated many developed economies over the past year.
How World Teachers' Day evolved
Dr. Quincy Lettsome, a veteran teacher leader, says in a recent article: "What is now known as 'World Teachers' Day' evolved after a number of administrative and legal procedures by teacher organizations throughout the world. The Day was first referred to as International Teachers' Day; then probably with such events as the fall of the Berlin Wall, it was changed to World Teachers' Day which included all teachers throughout the world." Dr. Quincy Lettsome further says that he was a delegate and as president represented the BVI Teachers' Union. There in Geneva, Switzerland during 1982, he made the proposal which later materialized as the World Teachers' Day. This proposal was made in the forum of a three-day workshop, which followed the then World Confederation of the Teaching Profession (WCOTP) Assembly, which was convened earlier in Switzerland. The proposal was made on the premise that there are days to honour mothers and fathers, and then there should be a Day set aside to honour Teachers. This suggestion of Dr. Quincy Lettsome was passed unanimously.
I contacted Robert M. Barker, the former Director of International Programmes of Canadian Teachers Federation (CTF) and also a veteran senior leader of World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession (WCOTP) for a long time, to ascertain the authenticity of Dr. Quincy's claim. Robert Barker, with whom I am acquainted for the last three decades, sent a clarification in e mail, which reads in the main:
"I do recall the name Quincy Lettsome... In the 1980's, CTF had a great number of projects in the Caribbean, including some in the British Virgin Islands. I would have to look extensively in my files in order to ascertain just what the role of Quincy Lettsome was at the time. However, I have no reason to disbelieve that he was engaged with the BVITA during this period and that he represented the island at the WCOTP Assembly in Switzerland in 1982. 1 did not attend the pre Assembly seminar in Geneva to which he refers and have no way of knowing what formality his suggestion took... As I recall, WCOTP was a proponent of the idea of a recognized "teachers' day" but where the notion actually came from, I don't know. It probably came from many different sources, perhaps including Quincy Lettsome's suggestion in 1982. 1 am quite certain that the appeal was made by WCOTP (and possibly only with IFFTU and WCT) to UNESCO. I am not sure of the date UNESCO actually made it official, but it has been celebrated officially, on October 5 since 1994. Education International came into being in January, 1993 and it seems to be clear that the El has been an ever increasingly strong proponent of World Teachers' Day since its inception."
Four features of 1966 and 1997 'Recommendation':
l "Since education is a service of fundamental importance it should be recognized as a responsibility of the state."
l "Teachers' organizations should be recognized as a force which can contribute greatly to educational advance and … therefore should be associated with the determination of education policy."
l "Teachers' salaries should … reflect the importance… of the teaching function and hence the importance o teachers as well as the responsibilities … which fall upon them from the time of their entry.
l "Teaching in higher education requires expert knowledge and specialized skills acquired and maintained through rigorous and lifelong study and research."
Theme of the Day, 2010
The main theme of the 'Day' this year is: "Recovery begins with teachers". It has a background that refers to the appeal to the US President Barrack Obama on June 21, this year by the presidents of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and National Education Association (NEA), the two prominent teachers' organisations of the United States. In the appeal AFT President Randi Weingarten and NEA President Dennis Van Roekel said inter alia: "As the twin G8 and G20 Summits in Canada fast approach, we are anticipating robust debates and resolutions on the best ways to guide the world's nations out of recession. The theme "Recovery and New Beginnings" could not be more appropriate. We are taking this rather unusual action of sending you a joint letter because of our concern that premature reductions and, in some cases, drastic cuts in public expenditures for education are being made by governments around the globe. We request that you exercise your leadership role at these international meetings to impress upon fellow world leaders that education must not be seen as an expensive drain on their economies, but as a high return investment -- the heart and soul of recovery and new beginnings. In order to give nations around the globe a chance to emerge from this recession we need highly trained and capable teachers. It is clear that the way to rebuild our world economy is to increase funding for education, not cut it. Investing in education will spur innovation that will produce solutions to the many problems we confront."
This appeal was followed by a call to G20 to promote quality education with teachers by the presidents of Education International (EI) and the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) to support a new global partnership for teacher education and professional development. El President Susan Hopgood said: "We are to face a worldwide shortage of more than 10 million teachers over the next five years. Millions more need support to become qualified and develop their professional skills. Qualified teachers are the key to quality in education, and countries need an unprecedented global partnership to invest in education." Supporting this call, the CTF President, Mary Lou Donnelly, explained that Canadian teachers had worked for years to run in service training programs for their colleagues in developing countries with funding provided by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). "We are deeply committed to helping teachers, and Canada has tremendous experience to offer a new global partnership," she said.
These initiatives are inseparably linked as the US House of Representatives has voted to approve new legislation that will inject more than $10 billion in aid to states and school districts to save education jobs that were threatened by budget cuts. The bill will now be signed into law by President Obama and it will hopefully create an historic precedent of how education can become the solution, not the problem, in a time of global crisis. However, such decisions should need to be taken everywhere in the present globalised world.
Relevance to Bangladesh context
Teachers and education employees of Bangladesh fully echo the contents and inherent emotions in the appeal and call as stated above. Although the Bangladesh context is not entirely same where world economic recession did not affect the economy to the extent it was apprehended. Its resultant effect in education also is visible. No major incidents of retrenchment have taken place during the last 18 months. On other hand, 32,750 new teachers have joined in primary schools. Government subvention to teachers of non government schools, colleges and technical education institutions, which was stopped during the Four-Party Alliance government has also been resumed. About 30,000 teachers in 1600 institutions have also been included in the monthly pay roll from the national exchequer. Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education has recommended to bring 1500 more non-government educational institutions under the monthly pay order (MPO).
In the mean time, the new National Education Policy has been approved by the government and a 32-member committee has been formed for its implementation and monitoring with teachers' representative. Up till now it's a new practice in Bangladesh. Again, 56% of the teachers and employees, who lost their jobs during the past regime, have been reinstated. Non-government teachers and education employees have been included in the new national pay-scale of 2009 and for that no action programme was needed this time as that of previous government. Teachers and Employees Welfare Fund and Retirement Benefit Board have also been reorgamised.
But despite all these positive steps, teachers still continue to be deprived of due promotions and their service conditions have not been amended till now. Government decision of 1994 to introduce service conditions for non-teaching employees has also yet to be implemented. On the other hand, teachers' recruitment policy remains unchanged and Public Service Commission for their recruitment has not yet been initiated. It seems that educators and the education staff shall have to get more organised and articulated for the implementation of the UNESCO ILO Recommen-dations concerning their rights and status.
The role of EI in Bangladesh
On World Teachers' Day, teachers and education employees in Bangladesh express their solidarity with the international teaching community. National Front of Teachers and Employees (NFTE), the united platform of eleven associations and unions representing teachers and education employees in 30 thousand educational institutions, celebrate the day through rally, discussion meeting, distribution of printed articles on teachers' status, dignity and role in improving the standard of education. This year NFTE has programmes to pay respect to the elderly and retired teachers, head teachers and text-book authors in 64 administrative districts. NFTE uses information materials of UNESCO, ILO, UNICEF and UNDP, along with those of EI. NFTE is not affiliated with EI. However, two components of NFTE are affiliated with World Confederation of Orgamizations of the Teaching Profession (WCOTP) the predecessor of Education International.
NFTE highly appreciates the awareness programme and information materials of EL. Though member organizations of NFTE are of the opinion that EI did not play its proper role when half a million teachers and education employees of Bangladesh suffered most from 2001 to 2008 -- more than 2000 teachers and education staff either lost their jobs or were debarred from entering their own institutions and salaries of about 50 thousand teachers and staff were stopped without showing any reason in most cases. The Education Ministry violated the provisions, especially of 09, 10, 46, 47, 49, 61, 62, 63, 71, 72, 731, 82, 89, 90, 115, 117 of UNESCO ILO Recommendations. On January 08, 2005 alone, 09 orders ware issued to stop due salaries, higher scale and increment on seniority and promotion. NFTE initiated measures for redress of the miseries of the distressed teachers and employees and stop repression on them which included legal assistance and organising programmes like press conference, exchange meeting with professionals and guardians, street processions, token strike, one to three hours of hunger strike, submission of memorandum to the then Prime Minister, written with the blood by NFTE leaders, hunger strike programme unto death, meeting with the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament and indefinite strike in the end. Writ petitions were filed by the affected persons which restored their salaries.
NFTE, along with the teachers and education employees, sincerely expected that EI would extend support and act in favour of the sufferers in their hours of crisis. But unfortunately nothing like that happened. Not any one from EI contacted NFTE, but UNESCO and ILO jointly arranged a seminar on December 29, 2005 on assessing service rules and conditions for teachers and staff of non government post-primary educational institutions in Bangladesh. The then Education Minister and the Director General of Education did not attend the seminar in spite of their prior consent to the organisers. Representatives of NFTE participated as usual in the seminar.
However, the laudable role of Education International for the cause of teachers in different parts of the world deserves appreciation in spite of the alleged lapse in the case of Bangladesh. Teachers and education employees of Bangladesh also sincerely admit the immense contribution of EL and place it in high esteem. During the celebration of World Teachers' Day programmes this year the organisers and participants will once again quote and discuss points from the information materials of EI, giving due credence to it.
Professor Quazi Faruque Ahmed is the Chairman, Initiative for Human Development ( I H D ) and Chief coordinator, National Front of Teachers & Employees (NFTE) Bangladesh. e- mail.
principalqfahmed@yahoo.com/
ihddhakx&hotmail.com