On October 5th EI affiliates from Argentina to Zimbabwe made their voices heard in celebrating World Teachers Day!

Activities organised varied from conferences and debates to lobby for the implementation of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation on the Status of Teachers, to publicity stunts to raise awareness on the need for quality teachers and quality education.

In Brussels, the EI Secretariat organised a European panel on the theme of quality education and an International Round Table on the status of teachers and governments’ compliance with international standards. The events also provided the setting for the official launch of the EI Report to the CEART (Committee of Experts on the Recommendations on Teachers, ILO/UNESCO). For more precise information, please consult our website.

In this issue:
World Teachers' Day
News from Affiliates
General News
Three Questions to...Kathrine Blyverket

As part of their EFAIDS Programme activities, SUTEP, the Education Workers Union of Peru, has just produced a report entitled ‘HIV/AIDS and Challenges to Education’.

The publication is the first of its kind produced by the union on this issue and represents an important addition to research on HIV/AIDS and education in Peru, a rare commodity to date.

Levels of awareness amongst the general population and within the teaching community on HIV and AIDS are discussed within the publication. Most significantly the report features a study carried out amongst teachers and learners regarding their knowledge of HIV and AIDS. Given the reports conclusion that basic knowledge is still missing, the union recommends taking immediate action. To obtain a copy, please contact us.

From September 22 – 25 Education International and EDC conducted a joint EFA and AIDS (EFAIDS) training workshop with the All India Primary Teachers’ Federation (AIPTF), All India Secondary Teachers’ Federation (AISTF), and the All India Federation of Teachers’ Organisations (AIFTO) in Chennai, India.

The states represented were Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra. The workshop was aimed at sensitising leaders of the three Federations on HIV and AIDS education and the link to EFA and developing corresponding plans for action. The participants addressed a number of issues such as how to mobilise the rank and file of their unions on these issues, how to teach about HIV and AIDS in a culturally appropriate way and how to consider the special needs of girls.

A representative from the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) spoke to the participants on behaviour change and life skills as well as the role of NACO and UNICEF in meeting the needs of youth. The session concluded with the preparation of concrete action plans on EFA and AIDS, a considerable step forward for our affiliates in India. For more information, please contact us.

UNATU has been very busy of late with the implementation of the EFAIDS Programme. On research, work is getting started on a study to assess the impact of HIV/AIDS on the education sector and the teacher in Uganda.

As to publicity and communications, the first newsletter on EFAIDS has been produced and will be circulated through the union structure on the 5th of October 2006, World Teacher’s Day. Also new EFA materials have been produced including a brochure, booklets and posters.

Training of Master Trainers is taking off this month. Half of the trainees will come from the union membership, and the other half will represent organisations such as TASO, UNASO, Straight Talk and the Ministry Of Health. Candidates have also been identified for the training of school principals and other staff. This is in line with the policy of teachers’ unions involved in the EFAIDS programme in assuring that the school administration is fully integrated into the programme and involved in training on HIV/AIDS education.

Finally, in the field of policy development the union has developed a position on private sector contributions and the provision of education in conflict areas. A workshop was organized in September at which UNATU came up with detailed strategies on how best to help in addressing these issues. For more information, please contact us.

At the 5th EI Asia Pacific Regional Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia in September, delegates adopted a resolution on Education for All and HIV/AIDS.

The Resolution notes the well established link between EFA and HIV/AIDS – the threat posed to EFA goals by HIV/AIDS and the need for education to stamp out the pandemic. The Round Table which established the resolution made a number of demands on three parties, namely, governments, unions and EI. For example, it called upon governments to take effective measures on quality EFA and HIV/AIDS including appropriate legislation to protect women and those infected by HIV against all forms of discrimination.

Likewise it urged teachers’ unions to become proactive in policy development on EFA and HIV/AIDS and lobbying the government to include HIV/AIDS education in teachers’ training and the school curriculum. Finally it requested EI to develop training activities and relevant materials for women on HIV/AIDS and girls education. For more information, please contact us.

Oxfam International has published a report which argues for the strengthening of public services.

Launched last month, ‘In the Public Interest’ notes that “Building strong public services is not a new idea, but it has been proven to work. It should be at the very heart of making poverty history. Governments must take responsibility for essential services”.

Furthermore “civil society organisations and private companies can make important contributions but they must be properly regulated and integrated into strong pubic systems, and not seen as substitutes for them.”

The report provides strong support for the ideas expressed by EI and its affiliates in their call for Quality Public Education for All. To download the report, please click here.

According to the most recent Eurobarometer, a European Commission survey which looks into public awareness and citizens’ behaviour, around half of all European citizens have no idea how HIV is transmitted.

To be more precise, some 45% of the 24,000 respondents surveyed said they believed that drinking from the glass of an infected person or sharing their toilet seat could lead to infection. A further 40% believe that HIV can be contracted through kissing on the mouth.

This widespread misinformation of citizens has given rise to concerned responses from the European Commission, particularly in light of the increasing number of infections recorded in Central and Eastern Europe in recent years. Many commentators note that a relatively successful record in the fight against the pandemic has meant that health authorities have tended to let their guard down, with worrying consequence.

To read the Commission’s press release, please click here.

EI’s General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen recently gave two major presentations in which he highlighted the political importance of the EFA and AIDS agenda within EI and to the future of the education sector. He also used the opportunity to praise the efforts made by EI affiliates on these issues thus far.

At the Asia Pacific Regional Conference in Jakarta he stated “I particularly want to commend the initiative taken in the Pacific region.” He underlined the important role that teachers and their unions play in combating the spread of the virus. “Through our schools we can provide education programmes on prevention. One lesson to be learned from Africa is that you should not ignore the threat and wait until the disease gets out of control. I urge all of you to pressure your governments and education authorities to take adequate measures.”

In September the General Secretary also addressed the SADTU Congress in Durban where he stated in no uncertain terms that “the training, recruitment and retention of qualified teachers will determine whether or not we will achieve Education for All children by the year 2015. That goal is achievable, but it will require more public investment, not less. And governments should understand that this will be an investment in the future of their societies.”

“ Not necessarily. Although we have a new leftwing government in power since last year, we still have to keep up the pressure on our government towards achieving Education for All. For example, up until recently education was considered as "Job Number One" to combat poverty.

The new government has now launched a four pillar strategy of development aid and education is not one of these pillars. We are therefore worried about what this means for aid to education. As a result, we are observing the situation, monitoring the budget and will continue to lobby for education to be treated as a top priority.”

“ During Global Action Week, UEN has forefronted campaigning efforts to get children from the Roma community in Norway into school. An estimated 90-95% of these children do not attend school.

We worked together with like-minded NGOs working on social inclusion, and with the support of Members of Parliament to ensure that literally each and every child would get an education, achieving a genuine Education for All in Norway. It was interesting as it demonstrated the two important strands of the Global Action Week campaign: both international solidarity and national level action. ”

“ The timing of Global Action Week is sometimes tricky as we are quite busy at that time with a culmination of the annual negotiations of salary for employees in the public sector during the last week of April.

Another issue is coverage. We find it difficult to spread the Global Action Week message through our schools. On the positive side, we are fortunate to have a relatively receptive partner in government, which makes our advocacy efforts somewhat easier.

Also we have a strong civil society network in place composed of the unions, NGOs, upper-secondary students organizations, the Norwegian Commission for UNESCO and the Norwegian Committee of UNICEF. This is a serious plus point for our campaigning efforts. There is strength in numbers! ”