Every year on 5th October, the world celebrates World Teachers’ Day. This day is commemorated in recognition of the responsibilities and rights of teachers and to emphasize assessing, appreciating, and improving the educators of the world. 5th October World Teachers’ Day was declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1994 to commemorate the signing of the 1966 UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, which addresses the status of teachers around the world. It was adopted in an intergovernmental conference held by UNESCO in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO), in Paris. UNESCO’s official website states that this recommendation also presents teachers’ international standards for their prior preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, learning, and teaching conditions.
5 October also commemorates the adoption of the 1997 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel by the UNESCO General Conference, to complement the 1966 Recommendation by covering higher education teaching personnel. These recommendations are a significant set of guidelines to promote the status of teachers in the interest of quality education. World Teachers’ Day has been celebrated since 1994 to mark progress and promote the teaching profession by reflecting on how to counter the challenges. The day is co-convened by UNESCO in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), UNICEF, and Education International (EI).
Significance of World Teachers’ Day
Teachers play a very important role in building a country. They dedicate themselves to shape the lives of others and by doing this, they make us strong. They also teach us the importance of responsibilities and about all aspects of life. It is therefore important to recognize and celebrate their efforts. World Teachers’ Day celebrates the importance of teachers in our lives and is observed in honor and acknowledgment of the efforts made by teachers around the globe to make our lives better. During this day, various educational institutions organize many events to celebrate World Teachers Day, allowing students to also give special gifts to their teachers.
The Theme of World Teachers’ Day 2021
We are now one and a half years into the COVID-19 crisis which has significantly cast a shadow on the education systems throughout the world. The theme of World Teachers’ Day 2021 is “Teachers at the heart of education recovery”, which will focus on the support needed by teachers to contribute fully to the recovery process. World Teachers’ Day 2021 celebrations will take place online from Paris, in conjunction with the Joint ILO-UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel (CEART) meeting, which will be running from 4th to 8th October 2021. This five-day series of regional and global events will showcase the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the teaching profession. It will also highlight effective policy responses and focus on establishing the steps needed in ensuring that teaching personnel develops their full potential.
To celebrate this day, there are plenty of events all over the world which are organized yearly. UNESCO invites everyone to celebrate the profession by spreading awareness about teacher issues, by ensuring that teachers are respected as part of the status quo. Let’s all take the opportunity of this day to discuss, argue, compare, share, learn and improve. Remember, good teachers are the reason why ordinary students dream to do extraordinary things. Happy World Teachers’ Day!
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