October 5, 2021
WORLD TEACHER’S DAY 2021
Government must listen to the voice of teachers and give genuine recognition to their rights and responsibilities, said National Federation Party Leader Professor Biman Prasad.
Professor Prasad said teachers will be at the centre of the recovery of learning and teaching losses as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic that has seriously disrupted classroom learning.
The NFP Leader said every stakeholder in education has to ensure that teachers are provided all the support and a conducive environment when schools re-open next year.
“Therefore, the theme of this year’s World Teachers Day “Teachers at the heart of education recovery “is very appropriate”.
“The NFP salutes all the teachers for their hard work and dedication in teaching our students. We thank them for working hard to make up for the learning and teaching loss those students face due to the pandemic”.
“We know that teachers and school heads have worked together in using digital platforms such as zoom classes, Moodle, google class rooms and other online platforms to reach out to the students. Many teachers and school heads have also gone to the extent of preparing worksheets and have made contacts with parents to ensure that students continue to learn”.
“Teachers are key in the shaping and educating of our society. World teacher’s day is celebrated to not only acknowledge and appreciate their contributions but it is also an opportunity to assess the teaching environment and changes required to make teaching meaningful and enjoyable for both teachers and students”.
“It is unfortunate that the partnership between teachers, teacher unions and government have been eroded over the last decade through imposition of many laws and regulations”.
“The major disincentive to retaining highly experienced and quality teachers has been the reduction of retirement age to 55 years and putting teachers on contract employment instead of permanent appointments”.
“This has resulted in exodus of quality teachers who quit their jobs before reaching the retirement age to take up teaching job offers overseas, mainly New Zealand and Australia”.
“For the last 7 years, this Government has consistently rejected our calls and two parliamentary motions calling for the establishment of an Education Commission to review every aspect of the education sector and make salient recommendations to ensure delivery of quality education and protection of the rights of every stakeholder including teachers”.
“Therefore, one of the priorities of the NFP in government will be to once again provide permanent employment to all teachers and civil servants and abolish the current policy of short-term employment contracts. We will also ensure that the retirement age of teachers and civil servants is increased to 60 years”.
Once again, on the occasion of this year’s World Teachers Day we congratulate and thank all the teachers for their hard work and dedication despite the challenges posed by the pandemic and wish them well.
Comments