World Teacher’s Day 2022
The apt procedure of growth in life is implemented through good and proper education, and the stairs and steps for that education are guided by good teachers. Although every day is an educator’s day, UNESCO has put forth a particular day to celebrate this essential position in society.
Being a teacher or an educator in society is a novel job that comes with its own perk. One can share the knowledge one has with anyone, but it takes a skilled educator to make an impact through their knowledge and information.
The initiatives to safeguard anyone who needs a helping hand and the support of society are readily provided through multiple organizations across the globe. And one of them is teachers’ associations, which are responsible for building a positive society.
History and UNESCO
While almost every event is organized by WHO and the UN, many fall under UNESCO as well. One of those events is World Teachers’ Day.
Historically speaking, in 1966 in Paris, an intergovernmental conference convened by UNESCO adopted a recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. This recommendation was provided through the collaboration of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNESCO.
Later, in 1994, UNESCO allotted 5th October as World Teacher’s Day with regard to the sincere decision made in 1966 by the collaborated juncture of ILO and UNESCO.
We commemorate this day every year on the fifth of October to honor and supplement the decision made decades ago to protect teachers and their status.
The theme of this year’s World Teachers’ Day is “The transformation of education begins with teachers”.
The International Labour Organization (ILO)
Founded in 1919 to emphasize the fact that the foundation of peace is embedded in social justice, it focused on laborers and their rights.
The preamble from 1920 speaks of universal and lasting peace formed by social justice, improving labor conditions, and countries implementing good labor laws and conditions to provide an example of social justice to other countries.
The constitution of the ILO was drafted in early 1919 by Samuel Gompers, the head of the American Federation of Labour in the US, under the Labour Commission, constituted of nine representative countries:
- Belgium
- Czechoslovakia
- Cuba
- France
- Japan
- Italy
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Poland
The social justice propagated by the ILO was based on security, political, economic, and humanitarian factors. Due to these factors, it still functions and thrives for a better society.
Employment and ILO
After many conventions and recommendations, the factors that were the key highlights in the first two years of the formation of ILO were:
- Unemployment
- Working hours
- Minimum age
- Night work for young people
- Maternity leave
- Night work for women
One or other factor still dominates in the majority of countries globally. It is under the ILO that governments are scrutinized to provide better employment and labor conditions under their multiple schemes.
The world eyes anyone lagging in social justice, yet they forget their own. It is easier to point fingers at others while turning a blind eye to what happens within our own boundaries.
ILO, in collaboration with UNESCO, is bridging the gap we can notice so profoundly.
Teachers and their labor
To attain a level of understanding that social justice can be meted through good education, the founders of the International Labour Organization must have been under good mentorship.
To possess the art of social equality, one goes through either of two things:
- Suffering under social inequality
- Was taught that social justice and equality are human rights.
The lesson of social equality belonging to every human on this planet can easily be propagated through a good teacher who does not differentiate between his pupils and grants equal access to education.
An educated mind teaches others. And our beloved teachers help us to achieve that.
The amount of effort put in by teachers to make life easier is unparalleled. The ILO recognizes this and works rigorously to bring governments to account.
Affect and effect
With the help of UNESCO/ILO, awareness about teachers’ labor rights and the exploitation they face as a result of unfair policies is spreading around the world. The effects of these negative measures also affect the economic conditions of the countries concerned.
Educating the humanitarian rights of equal employment and social justice cannot be achieved through uneducated citizens of the world. One needs an educator for that, and that is what this day promotes.
The quality of education depends on the provisions the employment sector has to offer the teachers. While a novel profession awaits them, individuals trained to be educators do not intend to take government jobs as they do not pay well and lack appropriate benefits.
The absence or lack of incentives drives educators to seek out industries that meet their demands, leaving behind their true calling.
To prevent such losses, UNESCO/ILO works with government representatives from across the globe and invites them to accentuate their policies and efforts for the benefit of the labor that can be provided by the teachers with adequate efficiency.
Society as an initiator
In India, we place our teachers on a pedestal and supplant them with the lines:
Guru Govind dau Khare, Kake Lagu Paye;
Balihari guru aapne, Govind dio bataye.
This Doha, or ancient verse in the form of a couplet by Kabir, elaborates on the concept of God and the teacher. According to Kabir, when God and the teacher come together, it is difficult to choose whom to bow to first.
Such is the standard of teachers in the Indian community. We accept teachers as an incarnation of God and praise them for their selfless act of providing education and distributing knowledge.
The world needs to understand this concept about teachers and implement it in their communities to provide what is due to them.
