Ei-iE

Education quality improves when teachers, and their unions, are supported; it deteriorates when they are not. This is one of the key findings of this year's Global Monitoring Report (GMR), which was launched at a series of events across the globe recently.

Education International affiliates participated in the GMR launch event at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in Bonn, Germany, and noted with satisfaction how the report highlighted that including teacher unions in designing strategies at an early stage contributes significantly to making policies effective. "Make no mistake, insufficient funding is one of the main obstacles to achieving quality education for all," said David Edwards, EI Deputy General Secretary. "Teachers and teacher unions all over the world are doing their part to achieve quality education. But the GMR is also clear that donors have not kept their promise. Education systems become sustainable when they are financed domestically, and reflect national realities and priorities. What developing countries need is sustainable, predictable funding that focuses on the three pillars of quality and civil society engagement - including teachers - in developing, monitoring and evaluating policies."

In a subsequent seminar, EI affiliates, many of whom are members of Global Campaign for Education (GCE) coalitions, went on to discuss strategies for their joint work as part of these coalitions in their countries. "There is much teachers and other education professionals can learn from their colleagues all across the world. Education International is engaged in the Unite for Quality Education campaign, which highlights how much educators contribute to quality education and its three pillars - quality teachers, quality tools and quality environments - and how this forms the basis for a sustainable, peaceful and prosperous future. Teachers and education professionals are committed to this daily for the benefit of their pupils," said Marlis Tepe, President of the German education union Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft (GEW), who co-hosted the meeting with EI.

For more information on the Unite for Quality Education campaign, please visit http://www.unite4education.org

For more information on the Global Monitoring Report, please visit http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/efareport/reports/2013/

For more information on the meeting, please visit http://www.gew.de/Gewerkschaften_aktiv_in_der_Globalen_Bildungskampagne.html(in German)