Ei-iE

Leading the profession

Teachers and education support personnel know what works in education. They must be recognised and empowered to deliver on the promise of quality education for all.

At the classroom level, academic freedom and professional autonomy are prerequisites for quality teaching and learning. As professionals, teachers must be afforded the space and trust to make the best possible decisions for their students.

Beyond the classroom, education policy must be informed by the vast experience and insights only education professionals can provide. We advocate for the involvement of teachers, education support personnel and their representative organisations in all decision-making in education and work towards the expansion of sectoral policy dialogue at all levels and in all countries.

Our work in this area

  1. News 6 November 2025

    United Nations Secretary-General calls on governments to invest in education and act to end the global teacher shortage

    António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), highlighted the essential role of education as the foundation of social progress and called on governments and the international community to invest in education and implement the recommendations of the UN High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession to end the global teacher...

    United Nations Secretary-General calls on governments to invest in education and act to end the global teacher shortage
  2. News 4 November 2025

    Mongolia: Major union victory as persistent mobilisation and widely supported strike lead to substantial increase in teachers’ basic salary

    After more than 13 weeks of strike and nine rounds of negotiations, the teachers’ strike in Mongolia has been called off following a favourable agreement between the Federation of Mongolian Education and Science Unions (FMESU) and Mongolia’s Ministry of Education. Teachers’ basic salary will increase by 50%.

    Mongolia: Major union victory as persistent mobilisation and widely supported strike lead to substantial increase in teachers’ basic salary
  3. News 3 November 2025

    From Geneva to the world: Educators demand urgent action and investment as SDG4 slips out of reach

    Addressing the Social Forum of the Human Rights Council, Takashi Kajiwara, Education International (EI) Vice-President and President of the Japan Teachers’ Union (JTU), made a powerful case for education as an enabling right that supports the fulfilment of all human rights and that must be fully funded around the world.

    From Geneva to the world: Educators demand urgent action and investment as SDG4 slips out of reach
  4. News 22 October 2025

    Ethiopia: Teacher unionists set bold agenda and chart the future for quality education

    The 23rd General Assembly of the Ethiopian Teachers’ Association (ETA) convened from October 14th-15th, 2025, bringing together educators and union leaders from across the nation and continent. The event was a call for solidarity, reform, and renewed commitment to quality, inclusive public education.

    Ethiopia: Teacher unionists set bold agenda and chart the future for quality education
  5. News 21 October 2025

    Taiwan: “Teachers have nearly become forced labor in sweatshops called schools”

    The National Teachers Association (NTA) is urging the government of Taiwan to listen to teachers and improve their working conditions and to align with the UN Recommendations on the teaching profession and achieve quality education.

    Taiwan: “Teachers have nearly become forced labor in sweatshops called schools”
  6. News 16 October 2025

    Madagascar: a snapshot of the bleak political and educational landscape

    The situation in Madagascar is evolving rapidly amid political changes triggered by major protests in many of the country’s large cities, especially the capital, Antananarivo, which has been affected by water and electricity cuts. FEKRIMPAMA (Christian Federation of Teachers and Education Employees of Madagascar) had called for a general strike...

    Madagascar: a snapshot of the bleak political and educational landscape
  7. News 12 October 2025

    2025 World Teachers’ Day: Together for Teachers, Together for the Future

    Demonstrations, calls for increased investment in quality, inclusive education systems and educators, poems, dances, and more. On October 5th, 2025, education unions celebrated World Teachers’ Day, around the globe.

    2025 World Teachers’ Day: Together for Teachers, Together for the Future
  8. News 10 October 2025

    Mongolia: Amid ongoing educators’ sit-ins, trade union brings their demands to the Government

    The peaceful sit-ins by teachers and education support personnel in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar are drawing national attention and growing solidarity from other sectors, such as the railway sector workers who have joined the protest in solidarity. Backed by the public strong support, the Federation of Mongolian Education and...

    Mongolia: Amid ongoing educators’ sit-ins, trade union brings their demands to the Government
  9. News 10 October 2025

    Lebanon: Go Public! Fund Education, from words to action

    Informed by the recommendations of the UN High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession (UNHLP), the Santiago Consensus and new research focusing on the political economy of education in Lebanon, Education International (EI) member organizations in Lebanon are advocating in the framework of the Go Public! Fund Education campaign for an...

    Lebanon: Go Public! Fund Education, from words to action
  10. News 9 October 2025

    Alarming education crisis in Cameroon: unions come out in force to save a failing education system

    Cameroon’s teachers have entered the third phase of the strike action launched at the start of the school year under the slogan “Education at Half-Mast”. Education staff denounce the deteriorating working conditions and demand far-reaching reforms. They blame the persistent lack of political decisions on key issues for the sharp...

    Alarming education crisis in Cameroon: unions come out in force to save a failing education system
  11. News 8 October 2025

    Historic: Education union leaders bring their voice to the African Union

    Leaders of Education International Africa (EIA) member organizations exchanged experiences and strategies during a Go Public! Fund Education event and then actively participated in the Pan African Conference on Teacher Education (PACTED 2025). During these high-level events held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, they reaffirmed their commitment to the EI Go...

    Historic: Education union leaders bring their voice to the African Union
  12. News 7 October 2025

    New TALIS data: Report confirms need to act on global teacher shortage and working conditions

    New data reveals a stark reality: One in five teachers under 30 years of age plan to leave the profession within the next five years. In some education systems, this figure rises to half of young teachers. This finding from the 2024 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), launched today,...

    New TALIS data: Report confirms need to act on global teacher shortage and working conditions
  13. News 6 October 2025

    Mongolia: Thousands of teachers and education support personnel rally to demand salary increase and adequate investment in the education

    In Ulaanbaatar’s main square, thousands of teachers and education support personnel staged a peaceful demonstration in front of the Parliament building. Their core demand is to raise the basic salary of teachers to 3.5 million tugrik and allocate adequate funding for the education sector. Currently, teachers earn between 1.2 –...

    Mongolia: Thousands of teachers and education support personnel rally to demand salary increase and adequate investment in the education
  14. News 3 October 2025

    World Teachers’ Day: African Union hosts global celebration in show of support for education and teachers

    For the first time ever, the official event marking World Teachers’ Day is not held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris but is hosted by the African Union in the framework of the Pan-African Conference on Teacher Education (PACTED) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on October 3rd.

    World Teachers’ Day: African Union hosts global celebration in show of support for education and teachers
  15. News 2 October 2025

    Education union communicators reassert that the teaching force, not AI, is at the heart of quality public education

    The impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the education sector and educators, the upcoming celebrations of World Teachers’ Day, as well as the recognition by UNESCO of the teacher-student relationship as a Human Heritage. These topics were debated at the latest Education International (EI) Communicators’ Network (ComNet) Global meeting.

    Education union communicators reassert that the teaching force, not AI, is at the heart of quality public education
  16. News 26 September 2025

    South-Asian education unions push for improved health, well-being, and gender equality curricula

    Over 160 participants including representatives of teacher unions, governments, civil society, youth, UN agencies, and academics from South Asia and Southeast Asia gathered to share lessons, explore innovative programs, and interventions to discuss how education systems can support teachers to deliver gender-responsive, socially responsible, and stigma-free curricula, including Comprehensive Sexuality...

    South-Asian education unions push for improved health, well-being, and gender equality curricula
  17. News 24 September 2025

    France: unions form massive common front to fight austerity and defend high-quality, inclusive education

    Responding to a call to strike issued by a broad alliance of unions, on 18 September French education workers mobilised in massive numbers against the budget proposals presented by the François Bayrou government, which has since resigned following the National Assembly’s vote of no confidence. The workers denounced the proposed...

    France: unions form massive common front to fight austerity and defend high-quality, inclusive education