Happy World Teachers’ Day| The teachers we need for the education we want: The global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage

 

The teachers we need for the education we want: The global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage

World Teachers’ Day is held annually on 5 October to celebrate all teachers around the globe. It commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, which sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers, and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions. 

It is a day to celebrate how teachers are transforming education but also to reflect on the support they need to fully deploy their talent and vocation, and to rethink the way ahead for the profession globally.  

The Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel was adopted in 1997 to complement the 1966 Recommendation by covering teaching personnel in higher education. World Teachers’ Day has been celebrated since 1994.

World Teachers’ Day is co-convened in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), UNICEF and Education International (EI).

"We call upon countries to ensure that teaching is transformed everywhere into a more attractive and valorised profession where teachers are valued, trusted, and adequately supported to meet the needs of every learner. Bold actions must be taken, if we are to reverse the current decline and successfully increase teacher numbers."

 

2023 celebrations

Being a teacher provides the unique opportunity to make a transformative and lasting impact on the lives of others, contributing to shaping sustainable futures and offering personal fulfilment. However, the world faces an unprecedented global teacher shortage exacerbated by a decline in their working conditions and status.

With the theme "The teachers we need for the education we want: The global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage", the 2023 celebrations will aim to put the importance of stopping the decline in the number of teachers and then starting to increase that number at the top of the global agenda. Through various activities, they will advocate for a dignified and valued teaching profession, analyse their challenges, and showcase inspiring practices to attract, retain and motivate teachers and educators. It will also examine the ways in which education systems, societies, communities, and families recognise, appreciate, and actively support teachers.

 

SDG 4

Goal 4 aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. This goal supports the reduction of disparities and inequities in education, both in terms of access and quality.

Congratulations!

Celebration of the successful completion of Africa Educates Her Campaign with Sofonie Dala - Season 3

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We are tonight's entertainment!

This night at this place, we have a great deal to celebrate. And I want to begin by saying, simply, to every one of you - thank you.

Access of girls to education in rural areas

Girls in rural areas of Africa are excluded from education not because of cultural resistance or unwillingness, but because of poverty - the main barrier to girls' education.

Our today's activity  was carried out in a rural community. We decided to give our support to girls who are not studying due to extreme poverty and also because of the barriers that Covid-19 has caused.

We carry out activities such as conducting a lesson, singing, reciting poetry and distributing school and biosafety materials.

"If a poor girl cannot come to the education, then education must go to her."

Our case study today are the sisters Teresa and Tininha, they participated in our interview at the end of last year. According to them, they stopped studying in 2018 because of serious financial problems facing the family. Fortunately, we also had the opportunity to speak with their mother who certified that she has no financial means to pay for her daughters' studies. They live in a rural area, in the slate house in very poor conditions where they never had electricity or clean water. With the advent of Covid-19, their lives became even more difficult.

Thank God, we had a basic class with them, we distributed some school and biosafety materials such as notebooks, pencils and surgical masks. They thanked and were very happy. 

Click here to see their first interview:

Webisode 8. Interview with Fernanda (Tininha)

Webisode 9. Interview with Teresa 

Webisode 6. Interview with Luisa  - the mother

Women in rural communities, in particular, have been left behind

In times of crisis or conflict, education is on the frontline. Everyone is affected but specially girls' and women. COVID-19 threatens the right of over 10 million African girls to education - these girls might never come back to school if we do not take action!

For over a decade, education for girls has been identified as one of the best solutions to reversing the relentless trend of poverty and disease devastating large portions of sub-Saharan Africa.

Entry poetry by Teresa, followed by a basic class with the children

Hello, my name is Teresa, I am 13 years old, I stopped studying when I was in seventh grade in 2018 due to financial problems. All these kids who are here with me don't study either.

However, I would like to recite a poem about Covid-19:

There are diseases that are worse than diseases

There are diseases that are more than disease

That make things more urgent and more difficult

I fear coronavirus and zeal for my life

Our faith is the vaccine

The pandemic that now dominates the world haunts me

I didn't want this plague

Protect yourself and protect us

There is no evil that lasts forever

Have resilience because everything passes!

After reciting the poem, Teresa decided to leave an appeal to all sponsors and investors:

Coronavirus is one of the reasons that these children do not study. I hope that a sponsor will appear to finance the school for all the girls.

After all we had a basic class in which the children learned to speak English.

The class was so fruitful that at the end of the program, the children shouted in chorus "We want to study, we want to study"!

"We want to study, we want to study"!

"We want to study, we want to study"!

Post-Campaign Report

Our campaign, named "Africa Educates Her Angola - Season 3'', started on December 18, 2020, collecting over 40 video interviews of girls and young ladies with different academic levels, from pre-school to university degrees. Some participants never attended school and others dropped out of school for various reasons, such as teenage pregnancy, poverty, child marriage and the emergence of the covid-19 pandemic.

From season 1 launched in August 2020 to to season 3 ended in January 2021, over hundred students including teachers were interviewed.

All participants were from different provinces of Angola. The data showed that COVID-19 pandemic lockdown affected the academic performance of most participants (99%) with varying degrees.

20% of the girls we interviewed are no longer students, they dropped out of school many years ago due to poverty, teen pregnancy and child marriage. Today they regret bitterly for dropping out of school for futile reasons.

35% of the girls we interviewed returned to school in October 2020 once they reopened. But most girls are dissatisfied with the weak conditions that their school created against the covid-19. They complain that there is not enough protection or biosafety materials. In addition, some teachers and students do not follow the preventive measures against covid-19.

Many students commented that they forgot almost everything they studied before the pandemic, and this affected their exams. According to them, the exams were very difficult.

45% of the girls we interviewed have been out of school since March 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and inability to pay school fees. Many of them spend their entire day at home busy with housework, some spend their days on the streets playing and dancing with friends.

However, they all dream of returning to school one day.

It is important to remember that schools in Angola reopened in early October, the Angolan government postponed the resumption of lessons in primary education (1st to 5th grade), the largest chunk of the education system. The postponement in the Primary Education owed to the increase in Covid-19 positive cases in the country.

The main goal of the campaign is to ensure all girls have access to a quality and safe education by dismantling the barriers imposed by Covid-19, poverty, teenage pregnancy and child marriage. In addition, we also want to partner with communities in support of girls ’education.

The campaign works to integrate girls who have dropped out of school back into the education system.

Brief covid-19 considerations and special interviews from a girl passing by

Hello, my name is Engracia, I will talk about the damage that the coronavirus caused in my country Angola.

Since the coronavirus emerged, a lot has happened in my country, such as increased hunger and poverty and also because of this same disease, many parents lost their jobs, many children stopped going to school, we lost our school year.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic many parents, mothers and children are locked up at home. For example, I am also a student and spent a lot of time at home without studying!

However, I would like to sing a special song for you!

School school school is beautiful, see you tomorrow comrade teacher, if God wants tomorrow we will come again!

When the quarantine passes I want to enjoy, 

I will love I will love until I say enough

And if the world ends it may even end,

 But I will live with you in the heavenly city

School, school school that teaches us to read and write, I want to go

I want to go to school, school, school even with this pandemic

Time will repair everything that it caused and  will fix it

Time will show me everything that wins, it will fix

School school, school I want to go to school to learn to read and write

I want to be someone in life, I want to go to school my God help us

I want to go to school, school to learn

I want to go to school to learn

I want to go to school, school, school

I miss my classmates.

“While this campaign is coming to an end, our movement is not.” We campaign and advocate at the international, regional and national level to put pressure on governments and the international community to deliver the right of everyone to a free, quality, public education.

I want to express to each of you my deep gratitude for contributing to the success of this outstanding campaign.

Together we have transformed African consciousness as to what kind of nation we can become, and have taken this continent a major step forward in the never-ending struggle for educational justice, economic justice, social justice, racial justice and environmental justice.

Gallery

Sofonie Dala 

Interviews - the Complete Collection

Ladies and gentlemen, here Ladies a glimpse of how the post-COVID-19 education looks like for students in Angola.

1.Webisode 41:Celebrating the successful completion of the Season3

2. Penultimate Webisode 40 with Audia

3. Webisode 39 with Lorena

4. Webisode 38 Lucrecia

5. Webisode 37 with Clara

6. Webisode 36 with Gracieth

7. Webisode 35 with Rosaria

8. Webisode 34 with Julia

9. Webisode 33 Esperanca

10. Webisode 32 with Domingas

11. Webisode 31 with Victoria

12. Webisode 30 with Alice

13. Webisode 29 with Luisa

14. Webisode 28 with Catarina

15. Webisode 27. Visitor

16. Webisode 26. Interview with Felicia 

17. Webisode 25. Interview with Belma 

18. Webisode 24. Interview with Estefania 

19. Webisode 23. Interview with Luenda 

20. Webisode 22. Interview with Nicha 

21. Webisode 21. Interview with Filo 

22. Webisode 20. Interview with Meury 

23. Webisode 19. Interview with Teresa 

24. Webisode 18. Interview with Isabel 

25. Webisode 17. Interview with Esperança João  

26. Webisode 16. Interview with Iracelma + Augusta 

27. Webisode 15. Interview with Laurinda 

28. Webisode 14. Interview with Marcelina 

29. Webisode 13. Interview with Inacia 

30. Webisode 12. Interview with Tania 

31. Webisode 11. Interview with Filismina 

32. Webisode 10. Interview with Angelina 

33. Webisode 9. Interview with Teresa 

34. Webisode 8. Interview with Fernanda (Tininha)

35. Webisode 7. Interview with: Maria Gomes

36. Webisode 6. Interview with Luisa 

37. Webisode 5. Interview with Arieth 

38. Webisode 4. Interview with Filomena

39.  Webisode 3. Interview with: Edvania

40. Webisode 2. Interview with Engacia

41. Webisode 1. Launching Season 3: Speech of Sofonie Dala + interview with Laurinda

⏬Overview of Africa Educates Her Campaign Angola. Interview with Sofonie Dala. Bonus

⏬ Celebrating the successful completion of the Season 2

⏬Celebrating the successful completion of the Season 1

Many many thanks, we hope to see you soon!

We launched this campaign to ensure that every girl is able to learn while schools are closed and return to the classroom when schools safely reopen. Everyone can play a role in supporting girls education - whether you are a teacher, parent, student, journalist, policymaker, or simply a concerned citizen.

Don't miss this opportunity to bring girls back to school. Tell us your story!

Do you have a personal experience with the coronavirus would you like to share? Or a tip on how your town or community is handling the poverty among women?

FIND SOMEONE TO SPONSOR TODAY

Your sponsorship will help the most vulnerable girls and women to take the first step out of poverty.

Click here to watch free full webisodes: https://she-leads.blogspot.com/

Burkina Faso junta says it foiled coup attempt

 Burkina Faso’s security and intelligence services foiled a coup attempt on Tuesday, according to the country’s military government.

It alleged that officers and others had planned to destabilise the country and throw it into chaos.

It has been almost a year since the interim President Capt Ibrahim Traoré seized power.

That was the country’s second coup of 2022, which took place amid a growing Islamist insurgency.

In a statement read out on television on Wednesday evening, the authorities said some arrests had been made and they were actively pursuing other suspects, without giving specific details. The military prosecutor has since said that four officers have been detained.

 

It said the alleged perpetrators “had the sinister intention of attacking the institutions of the republic and plunging the country into chaos”.

Hours earlier,Capt Traore had issued a statement  saying he was “determined to safely lead the transition [to democracy] despite adversity and the various manoeuvres to stop our inexorable march towards assumed sovereignty”. He also thanked pro-junta supporters for “their vigilance”.

The junta has said elections will take place by July next year.

On Tuesday, rumours of a brewing mutiny led hundreds of people to take to the streets of the capital, Ouagadougou, in support of the junta.

On the same day, the authorities suspended the French-language news magazine Jeune Afrique, accusing it of publishing articles discrediting the armed forces.

The widespread jihadist insurgency, which spilled over from neighbouring Mali in 2015, has complicated plans to hand over power to civilians by next year.

About 6,000 people have been killed this year alone in jihadist attacks, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (Acled).

Since taking power, Capt Traoré has moved to cut links to France, the former colonial power.

He ordered French forces based in the country to help tackle the Islamist insurgency to leave, and launched mass recruitment drives to reinforce the security forces.

Earlier this month, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali – three neighbouring countries all threatened by jihadist forces and where the army has seized power in the past year – established a defence pact in a bid to support each other against any armed rebellion or external aggression.

Source : bbc news

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How worried are Americans about their choices in the 2024 vote?

 US pollsters weigh in on the economy, Biden’s age and more as the parties plot their strategies for victory in 2024.

Will the Republican-led impeachment inquiry succeed in painting United States President Joe Biden as “crooked”? Will it backfire and be judged as a colossal waste of time? Can Biden’s attempt to paint the 2024 election as a “fight for democracy” work again? How much will Biden’s age affect his chances of winning? Will the economy play into the hands of Biden or his chief opponent, former President Donald Trump?

On this episode, host Steve Clemons asks pollsters Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, and Micah Roberts of Public Opinion Strategies, to weigh in on the main drivers of US public opinion.

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Harry Potter actor Sir Michael Gambon dies aged 82

 The actor Sir Michael Gambon has died aged 82, his family has said.

He was best known for playing Professor Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight Harry Potter films.

The Dublin-born star worked in TV, film, theatre and radio over his five-decade career. He had won four Baftas.

His widow Lady Gambon and son Fergus said their “beloved husband and father” died peacefully in hospital with his family by his side, following a bout of pneumonia.

Sir Michael began his career as one of the original members of Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre acting company in London. He went on to win three Olivier awards for performances in National Theatre productions.

He played French detective Jules Maigret in ITV series Maigret and was also known for his role as Philip Marlow in Dennis Potter’s The Singing Detective on the BBC.

Sir Michael took on the role of Dumbledore – headmaster of wizarding school Hogwarts – in the hit Harry Potter series, based on JK Rowling’s novels, after the death of Richard Harris in 2003.

He was nominated for Emmy awards for his role as Mr Woodhouse in an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma in 2010, and for playing President Lyndon B Johnson in Path to War in 2002. He also got a Tony nomination in 1997 for a role in David Hare play Skylight.

The actor – known as “The Great Gambon” in acting circles – last appeared on stage in 2012 in a London production of Samuel Beckett’s play All That Fall.

He was knighted for services to the entertainment industry in 1998.

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US Secretary of Defense highlights historic opportunity

 Luanda - The Secretary of Defense of the United States of America (USA), Lloyd Austin, highlighted on Wednesday, in Luanda, the historic opportunity that Angola and his country have to strengthen relations in defensive field, with special emphasis on the maritime sector.

Lloyd Austin, who was speaking at the opening of talks between military delegations of the two countries, also welcomed the cooperation in the Atlantic field.

In his statements, he highlighted the fact that he was the first North American Secretary of Defense to travel to Angola, which at the same time shows the value that the United States of America gives to relations between the two countries.

Lloyd Austin highlighted that the two countries currently have a great opportunity to deepen cooperation in the field of maritime defense, defense policy, doctrine, among other areas.

He also expressed his country's satisfaction at being with its allies, fighting against threats such as climate change and illegal fishing, and ensured the willingness of the US Department of Defense to continue cooperating with Angola, as the country is modernizing its Armed Forces.

To those present, he also highlighted the fact that Angola's defense forces are helping to fight against the forces that are trying to destabilize the region, presenting as an example the support for the defense forces of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), in Mozambique, as well as the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

In turn, the Minister of State and Head of the Military Office of the President, General Francisco Pereira Furtado, said he hopes that negotiations between the two countries can achieve the goals set so that they can, in fact, have a broad cooperation program.

Gen. Francisco Pereira Furtado said that, once defined, this cooperation should begin immediately to be implemented from January 2024.  

In Angola since Tuesday, for a 24-hour visit, as part of a tour of Africa, which has already taken him to Djibouti and Kenya, the US Department of Defense was received in audience, this Wednesday morning, by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço.

U.S Defense Secretary reiterates commitment to African partners

 Luanda - The United States of America (USA) is deeply committed to ensuring that Africa enjoys all the protections of international rules and standards that promote security and prosperity.

The statement was made this Wednesday, in Luanda, by the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, when he spoke about the new angles of US policy towards Africa and the power of partnership, at the end of a tour of the African continent, which previously took him to Kenya and Djibouti.

Lloyd Austin reiterated the commitment of the North American Government and the President of the United States to the future of Africa, redoubling efforts to prevent conflicts, especially through its strategy to prevent conflicts and promote stability.

He highlighted the need for the continent to overcome the most urgent common threats it faces, and expressed optimism regarding a shared future in which there is peace, prosperity and, above all, freedom.

The U.S Defense Secretary referred, among others, to the fact that military cooperation with African partners is now stronger, there is collaboration in strengthening ties, always based on equality and mutual respect, the joining of new partners and  building coalitions to oppose aggression and defend sovereignty.

He noted that the United States is empowering its partners to find local, national, and regional solutions to the dangers they face, as well as working to help create stronger institutions to combat the long-term forces that shape extremism.

According to Lloyd Austin, threats include violent extremism, piracy, cyber vulnerabilities and climate catastrophes, often made worse by tenuous governance, predatory institutions or persistent poverty.

“So we are determined to work with our valued African partners to develop the capabilities they need to keep their populations safe,” he said, adding that the extraordinary US Africa Command, led by General Michael Langley, provides a range of support to partners' security forces.

Likewise, he said, to increase their capabilities, President Biden created, last year, the “21st Century Partnership for African Security”.

The Secretary of Defense mentioned the cruelty of extremist organizations or terrorist groups, such as Al-Shabaad and ISIS, which deliberately target innocent civilians and cause the destruction of communities on the continent, as well as waves of suffering and instability that cross borders.

In this sense, he argued that African security forces must be able to combat these groups, defend their sovereignty and protect their people, a task that he considered AFRICOM's central point, the States Command for Africa.

For lasting success, he said, African countries need responsive, transparent and civilian-led institutions that respect human rights, uphold the rule of law and work for all their people.

He also considered it important that there is greater participation of women in issues of peace and security at the continent level and highlighted joint work to deepen partners' cyber security, as well as to expand information sharing in this area, in order to help African countries to combat the digital evil of external disinformation.

On the other hand, he spoke of close cooperation in the space area, with emphasis on Nigeria and Rwanda, countries that recently signed the Artemis Accords, which establish common principles to guide space exploration, and joint efforts in the field of health, against infectious diseases and medical readiness.

Lloyd Austin made a 24-hour visit to Angola, as part of a tour of Africa, which will take him to Djibouti and Kenya.

In the country, the North American official was received in an audience by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, and witnessed the opening of talks between military delegations from Angola and the USA.