Message from the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth on World Teachers Day 2009

This last milestone was marked by the staging of one of the largest conferences of Education Ministers of the Commonwealth ever to be held, hosted by the Government of Malaysia in June 2009 in Kuala Lumpur. It is no surprise that in their closing statement, Ministers called for the improvements in the quality and professionalisation of teachers across the world. If we are to reach our education targets to put all children through primary education by 2015, we need 18 million teachers, of whom 13 million are needed in developing countries.

Yet teachers continue to migrate from where they are most needed. The Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol of 2004 helps to manage that flow. It aims to balance the rights of teachers to migrate internationally, with the need to protect the integrity of national education systems, safeguard the rights of teachers, and prevent their exploitation. In Kuala Lumpur, Commonwealth education ministers set up an advisory body on teacher recruitment and migration, to monitor the mobility, recruitment and migration of teachers within and beyond the Commonwealth, to protect that vital resource for the future of education.

Only this week, the Commonwealth joined UNESCO and the ILO in reviewing the 1966 Recommendations on the Status of Teachers. These constitute a charter of rights for teachers worldwide. In adopting the Recommendations, governments have recognised the fundamental importance to society of having highly-qualified education workers who are equipped to do their best for the next generation. Yet many governments do not comply with the recommendations. The Commonwealth Secretariat will continue to support the monitoring of the application of the Recommendations, and to rule on violations of teachers’ rights.

On World Teachers Day 2009, the Commonwealth Secretariat is proud to host the Steve Sinnott Foundation, a new charity aiming to promote the achievement of the second Millennium Development Goal, which seeks universal primary education. This new charity is named after one of the most passionate advocates for teachers that the Commonwealth has ever known: Steve Sinnott, the late Convenor of the Commonwealth Teachers Group.

The Foundation announces the establishment of a worldwide online community in which teachers can:

· exchange their experiences of projects in which they have been involved

· encourage each other in new and existing projects

· contribute to a growing bank of resources for use in promoting the second MDG

· unite in showing their support for a goal which should see 75 million more of the world’s children in primary education by 2015.

On World Teachers Day 2009, I call on our member countries, civil society and strategic partners to join with us in commending the teachers of the Commonwealth for their contribution to the development of future generations of Commonwealth and world citizens.

Key Links:

• Teacher Recruitment Protocol
• Education
• Secretary-General