The Francophone Trade Union Committee for Education and Training is meeting in Madagascar to share the French-speaking perspective on union rights to the precarious position of teachers and the private financing of education.
Between 14 and 16 November in the country’s capital, Antananarivo, representatives of education trade unions from 30 French-speaking countries attending the 15th meeting of the Comité syndical francophone de l’éducation et de la formation(Francophone Trade Union Committee for Education and Training- CSFEF), grouping together the French-speaking affiliates of Education International (EI), will discuss the best way to promote quality education and better living and working conditions for teachers.Their discussions will be supplemented with analyses of external contributions (researchers, UNICEF, NGOs working in education).
Several round tables to be held during the event will address major issues such as: How to ensure access to inclusive and quality education for all and how best to promote lifelong learning opportunities. What type of funding can be sought for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) – are governments devolving their education responsibilities to the private sector?; and How to improve the precarious situation of education.
The participants will also be able to attend workshops on the following topics: trade union rights; social protection; occupational health and working conditions; trade union representativeness and workplace elections.
"This meeting will be an opportunity, just a few days ahead of the Summit of the Francophonie, to raise awareness among heads of state and government with regard to the importance of education in the countries of the Francophonie", said CSFEF General Secretary Luc Allaire, adding that the CSFEF sent them a Declaration demonstrating the mobilisation of the French-speaking trade unions for public, free and quality education for all, through qualified teachers and quality teaching and learning environments and tools.
This mobilisation, he warned, will be necessary for ensuring that the countries of the Francophonie are able to achieve the SDG adopted by the United Nations, and Goal 4 in particular, which relates to education, aiming to “ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning”.
The CSFEF's declaration ahead of the Summit of the Francophonie which will be held on 26 and 27 November 2016 includes among its recommendations to the governments of the French-speaking states: ensuring that all boys and girls complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education; that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development and care; ensuring that all girls and boys have access to quality pre-primary education; build adapted and equipped facilities (laboratories, libraries, computers) and ensuring that teachers receive training on ICT; establishing genuine social dialogue and complying with the commitments made; consulting with teachers prior to and during all steps of any reform; and increasing the budgets intended for education and the part of their budget intended for education.
This meeting of the CSFEF will also serve to lay out the major orientations for the next two years for the CSFEF, an international non-governmental organisation recognised by the International Organisation of La Francophonie.