Ei-iE

In Nepal, an education union has highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to new challenges. These include non-payment of teacher salaries by some private school employers, the psychological impact of the lockdown on students, and the challenges of online teaching.

An Education International affiliate representing elementary school teachers in India has called on the government to fundamentally shift its approach to education. The union voiced its concern over growing inequality stemming from distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Australian Education Union has published a report showing a significant digital gap during the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of digital inclusion for public school students.

The Portuguese education union, Federaçao Nacional dos Professores, is concerned about teacher professional issues, inequities, lack of social dialogue, and assessment of teachers.

Education International’s affiliates in the United States have reasserted the need for public authorities to listen to the voice of educators and their professional organisations when reopening schools and education institutions, and to deliver proper funding for the education sector.

Trade unionist teachers in the Democratic Republic of Congo have called on the public authorities to respect a promise to pay “new units” teachers since April 2020.

Education unions in the UK have voiced deep concern concerning the reopening of schools and education institutions planned for September.

Education International's member organisation, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE), conducted a survey in which nearly 18,000 teachers participated. It showed unease and concern about the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the well-being of students and teachers. It exposed damage to education stemming from the dependence on distance learning, including...

On 9 July, a webinar reviewing the recently released Global Education Monitoring Report (GEM) 2020 from the perspective of teachers was co-hosted by Education International, UNESCO, the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030, and the GEM Report. The report, “Inclusion and Education: All Means All” was explained. Its...

As COVID-19 cases increased in Palestine, the General Union of Palestinian Teachers, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, led a project on e-learning. This has assumed greater significance as schools will not reopen in August as had been previously planned.

Teachers are all scrambling onto remote learning (or distance learning, or continuous learning, or crisis learning, or the nomenclature of your area) to support and stay connected with their students during this isolating time. The unexpected nature of the events around COVID-19 and the different levels and speeds of responsiveness...

Representatives of French teachers’ unions have impressed upon public authorities the need to establish a real social dialogue to ensure high-quality education for all during and after the current global pandemic. In particular, they point to the statement adopted by the Education International European Region, ETUCE; which makes recommendations for...

The Government of Zimbabwe announced that schools would reopen, already for examinations in late June and move forward in steps in the following weeks to re-open schools despite risks of an intensification of COVID-19 infections. Education trade unions challenged the re-openings as unsafe and premature and called for social dialogue...

The Bahrain Teachers’ Association has made proposals regarding the reopening of schools and education institutions for the next academic year, 2020-2021, stressing seven measures to be taken.

The Gambia Teachers Union has been proactive in its advocacy and activities in response to the COVID-19 epidemic as it turns its focus to guaranteeing a safe return to schools and quality education for all.

In Italy, the first COVID-19 cases were discovered at the end of January. It was another month before the spread of the virus forced us to suspend face-to-face lessons. At the beginning of March, teachers, in lockdown at home, began distance teaching, while administrative, technical and cleaning staff still had...

Education International echoes the call of education workers from around the world: national governments must ensure their protection through evidence-based public health measures in the transition back to school. Read about how the global union federation responds to this call.

Education International has launched a COVID-19 Solidarity Fund to strengthen education trade unions following the COVID-19 pandemic. The solidarity of many member organisations has already provided contributions, and requests to provide support for union activities have been received from other affiliated unions.