In India, The Teacher’s Day is celebrated on September 5 while the World Teachers’ Day (WTD) is commemorated on October 5 (Since 1995) by UN agencies to honour teachers and celebrate teaching, educational researching, teacher education activities as a professions and move toward setting benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions.
Last year, the theme of the UN established observance was “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future” which is relevant for India this year too to draw attention to the 'voices of teachers, who are at the heart of efforts to attain the global education target of leaving no one behind.'
Teachers around the world, have been urged individually and collectively to find solutions and create new learning environments for their students to allow education to continue.
UNESCO adds that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly added to the challenges faced by already over-extended education systems throughout the world. It is no exaggeration to say that the world is at a crossroads and, now more than ever, we must work with teachers to protect the right to education and guide it into the unfolding landscape brought about by the pandemic.
In view of the COVID 19 crisis, the following responses are critical in terms of the contributions teachers, besides address the role of teachers in building resilience and shaping the future of education and the teaching profession.
-Providing remote learning,
-Supporting vulnerable populations
-Re-opening schools with health protocols
-Ensuring mitigation of learning gaps "With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goal 4 on education, and the dedicated target (SDG 4.c) recognizing teachers as key to the achievement of the Education 2030 agenda, WTD has become the occasion to mark progress and reflect on ways to counter the remaining challenges for the promotion of the teaching profession," informs UNESCO saying that the observance is o-convened in partnership with UNICEF, the International Labour Organization and Education International.
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