World Teachers' Day Statement by Education Cannot Wait
Executive Director Yasmine
Sherif
NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- We must build a new
social contract for education – a contract based on equality,
equity, and universal human rights. At the center of our global
efforts to ensure education for all, we must put teachers first in
everything we do. They are frontlines heroes who deliver every
day to educate children, cultivate young talent, and build a strong
society. They are the substitute parents, the mentors and the ones
who contribute to shaping the identify of a child in war, in refuge
or in climate change.
On World Teachers' Day, we commend the remarkable work done by
teachers on the frontlines of the world's most severe humanitarian
crises. In places like Beirut,
Democratic Republic of Congo,
Gaza, Haiti, Sudan
and Ukraine, these teachers work
in dangerous conditions to provide girls and boys with the
life-saving – and life-affirming – opportunity that only a quality
education can provide.
As the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted
crises within the United Nations, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) puts
teacher voices first in everything we do. Last year alone, we
provided training to more than 100,000 teachers (59% women) on
topics ranging from mental health, education in science,
technology, engineering and math, gender-inclusion and disaster
risk reduction. Approximately 60% of our investments active in 2023
supported teacher recruitment and/or financial assistance to retain
teachers, with a focus on equity and inclusivity. This collective
work reached a total of 5.6 million crisis-impacted children and
adolescents in 2023.
In Nigeria, where approximately
18 million children are out of school, bold and brave teachers like
Hafsat are making a real difference. In the Hajj Camp in Borno
State, Hafsat and other teachers like her are providing education
for girls and boys that were either the children of armed group
members or may have been child soldiers themselves. In this wild
corner of North-East Nigeria, children are born from conflict and
live in constant fear of abduction, forced recruitment, enslavement
and sexual exploitation.
Imagine the difference Hafsat can make in the lives of her
students, her community and the world as a whole; as she puts it:
"I love children, and I also believe that my line of work is
important for peacebuilding."
We face a number of challenges in mobilizing, training and
supporting teachers, especially on the frontlines of armed
conflicts, forced displacement, the climate crisis and other
humanitarian catastrophes. According to recent analysis from our
partners UNESCO, 44 million additional teachers are needed to
achieve universal primary and secondary education by 2030.
With more funding we can provide cash incentives to support
teachers in the war zones and climate disasters around the globe.
Besides being affected themselves, we also have to empower them. We
can train teachers like Hafsat to deal with the unique needs of
children who have lived through the horrors of war and terror. We
can build the policies and systems in countries to ensure
gender-inclusive education and encourage pupils to turn their
resilience into power.
And we can work collectively to ensure coordinated and
synchronized support across the humanitarian-development-peace
nexus to connect teachers, students and the communities they serve
to deliver on a new social contract based on universal values and
universal human rights. Today, we honor all teachers in the most
difficult situations in the world. Now, we must act.
Logo -
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1656121/Education_Cannot_Wait_Logo.jpg
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/may-teacher-voices-echo-around-the-globe-302267363.html