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        Ami Vitale / Oxfam / Mauritania

 
TAKE ACTION - EVERY CHILD NEEDS A TEACHER!

If you can read this, thank a teacher.

We’ve come a long way since the Global Campaign for Education started in 1999.  School fees have been dropped in many countries, millions more children can now go to school and the UK has just pledged $15 billion to education, which gives real promises that Education for All might become a reality.

But, we still need at least 15 million more teachers, if every child is to have the chance of a good quality education. 

Right now, over 100 million children wake up every day without the hope that education offers. These children know AIDS, know poverty, know hard labour, know hunger… but they will never know a teacher.

If we are to provide them with teachers, rich countries must follow the lead of the UK and provide long-term predictable funding to developing countries.  In order to plan ambitiously, governments need to a guarantee of long-term predictable aid from all rich countries. 

Global Action Week is now taking place in an amazing 115 nations.  The majority of countries have already collected evidence, about the need for more, qualified and trained teachers in developing countries.  Their evidence will be presented to officials who have been invited back-to-school and also at national ‘Big Hearings’.  Campaigners are putting officials on trial, for failed education promises and asking for their declarations that they must do better.


Take Action – Find out what the three activities are during Global Action Week

Country Updates - Find out who to contact and what's happening in your country

Useful Web Links – Some of the international coalitions and organizations involved in Global Action Week


Every child needs a teacher:

There are simply not enough teachers to ensure every child can get a quality education:
  • The United Nations estimates that at least 15 million more teachers are needed for the universal primary education goal alone.
  • There is a desperate need for more qualified teachers - many low income countries currently save money by hiring teachers with little training, and pay them poorly.
  • Teachers are under pressure, coping with enormous classes, poor living and working conditions and many are affected by HIV/AIDS. Yet good teachers are essential for children to learn, female teachers are particularly important for helping girls stay in school.
GCE is demanding rich countries:
  • Increase aid and cancel debt
  • Support countries' long-term education plans including teacher salaries
  • End harmful donor conditions that prevent countries employing sufficient numbers of professional teachers
GCE demands poor countries:
  • Increase public spending on education
  • Ensure quality teaching by training teachers to a professional standard
  • Pay teachers a living wage and give them a say in education policy-making
  • Reduce class sizes and improve classroom conditions

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At the national level there are three stages that count towards sending teachers to school.
  1. Creating a dossier: THE CASE FOR TEACHERS

    A dossier is a file of evidence and persuasive information that can be used to argue the case. Children, adult learners, teachers and campaigner will gather evidence that argues for quality teachers. These dossiers will be assembled in the run up to Global Action Week, 2006. Here are just a few examples of the evidence that may make up the dossier/briefcase/album:

    • Stories under the title We need a teacher because.
    • Paper cut-out "teachers", asking "please send a teacher to school" or "send my friend a teacher".
    • Pictures of classrooms, or of children and teachers out-of-school because of the lack of teachers.
    • Personal testimonies of quality teachers, or the lack of quality teachers, this could be in the form of drama, stories, songs or pictures.

  2. OFFICALS BACK TO SCHOOL

    Following on the success of previous years, officials, political figures and celebrities will be invited back-to-school and adult learning centres. Here they will report back on progress made on previous pledges and be presented with the Case for Teachers (the evidence that has been collected in the dossiers). They will be asked to commit to taking action to send teachers to school.

  3. THE BIG HEARING

    National events will focus around "A Big Hearing" which will present "The Case for Teachers". Based on the style of court hearings, or pubic enquiries, the big hearing will be relevant to the national context. Some countries will put politicians and officials on trial to assess the progress they have made on their commitments to ensure all children have a free quality education. In other countries the persuasive case for teachers will be presented to officials, after which they will be asked to take action.

If you can read this, thank a teacher.

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