World Teachers' Day (5 October)

World Teachers' Day (5 October)

World Teachers' Day, held annually on October 5th since 1994, commemorates teachers’ organizations worldwide. Its aim is to mobilize support for teachers and to ensure that the needs of future generations will continue to be met by teachers.

According to UNESCO, World Teachers' Day represents a significant token of the awareness, understanding and appreciation displayed for the vital contribution that teachers make to education and development.

Education International (EI) (the global union federation that represents education professionals worldwide) strongly believes that World Teachers' Day should be internationally recognized and celebrated around the world. EI also believes that the principles of the 1966 and 1997 Recommendations should be considered for implementation in all nations.

Over 100 countries observe World Teachers' Day. The efforts of Education International and its 401 member organizations have contributed to this widely spread recognition. Every year, EI launches a public awareness campaign to highlight the contributions of the teaching profession.

World Teachers’ Day is held annually on 5 October to celebrate the essential role of teachers in providing quality education at all levels. It also commemorates the anniversary of the 1966 signature of the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers.

"Take a stand for teachers!" is the 2012 motto for World Teachers' Day.

New figures indicate that two million new teaching positions will be needed in order to meet the goal of universal primary education by 2015. Gender balance among staff is vital: countries with a higher proportion of female primary teachers are more likely to have higher enrolment rates for girls in secondary schools.

In addition, the supply of primary teachers is simply not matching the demand - particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, according to UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics.

Gender equality in education is a major global concern, but despite commitments to international gender goals, the majority of out-of-school children, and two-thirds of illiterate adults are female. Women and girls thus form the largest single category of people deprived of full and equal opportunities for education.