Ei-iE

On behalf of teachers and education workers around the world, Education International extends sincere condolences to the families and school community of the victims of the tragic shooting that took place on 7 April in Tasso da Silveira primary school in the Realengo district of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Education International (EI) is deeply concerned that workers and their trade union representatives in Bahrain are facing a wave of coercive violence and massive dismissals, in apparent reprisal for their participation in legitimate strikes and protest actions for democratic change.

Teacher unionists in Morocco have staged a two-day nationwide strike after recent demonstrations for better benefits ended in violence.

French teacher unions have issued a joint statement following on the recent district elections in France, which have seen a growth in support for the far right party, the National Front, asserting that “educators oppose the policies of the extreme right.“

EI’s EFAIDS Programme is ending after five successful years of activity in Education for All (EFA) and HIV and AIDS education. Life-saving skills training has been implemented by 80 member organisations in 48countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Teachers from around the world have condemned reports from Harare which confirm that Zimbabwe’s teachers have been experiencing increased political threats and serious violent attacks since November 2010.

On 17 December 2010, a young vegetable seller named Mohamed Bouazizi burned himself alive in protest at police harassment in a small poverty-stricken town in Tunisia. Within a month the regime of President Ben Ali had fallen, sending shock waves across the entire Arab region.

This conclusion was drawn by Professor Davison Munowadawafa at a meeting on school health and safety, evaluating the outcome of the EI EFAIDS programme.

EI’s newly formed European Region, ETUCE, is launching a survey amongst teachers to map the harmful effects of stress.

While teacher unions are determined to continue to voice demands for more freedom and rights in the region, EI keeps receiving worrying reports about attacks against teachers and unionists.

Mr. Maina Kiai, chairman of the Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KNHRC), has been appointed by the Human Rights Council as Special UN Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association for a period of three years.

A New Year’s pledge from hardline Republican Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, to remove teachers’ collective bargaining rights, as well as their health benefits and pension entitlements, has brought thousands of pro-union demonstrators on to the streets in all 50 U.S. states in solidarity with the Wisconsin unions.

While teacher unions are determined to continue to voice demands for more freedom and rights in the region, EI keep receiving worrying reports about attacks against teachers and unionists.

In a recent survey of members, the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) was shocked to discover 86 per cent of teachers experience stress at work, while 24 per cent of respondents said stress levels are ‘of concern’ or ‘intolerable’. The union is tackling this problem everyone needs a way to...

The EI Executive Board in Cape Town has condemned the murder of teacher Ilse Ivania Velásquez as a new low in an increasingly deteriorating situation in Honduras.

Challenges to secure quality education in the West African countries of Senegal and Mali include overcrowded classes, over-stretched teachers and under-resourced schools. The impact of HIV and AIDS is another factor with the potential to complicate access and provision of education.

EI has condemned the suspension of higher education in Bahrain as the brutal repression of pro-democracy protesters demanding political reforms within the kingdom continues.

EI and its national affiliates, SADTU, NAPTO, and SAOU, are urging the Government of South African to sign up to the joint statement on ending violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.