Ei-iE

The Education International Africa Region has adopted indicators for reopening of schools and other educational institutions and circulated them to member and partner organisations.

The National Union of Education Workers (SNTE) has presented a 10-point programme on the safe re-opening of schools to the Ministry of Public Education. The union is proposing a “hybrid” launch of the school year with a mix of distance learning and in-person education.

GEMS Metropole School threatened parents with withholding students’ report cards and transfer slips unless school fees were paid. Education International and the Global Campaign for education call on the United Arab Emirates to not tolerate extortionary manoeuvres against children in private schools.

In March 2020, the tropical heat was rising in Tamil Nadu, India. The teachers were in the thick of handling lesson planning, engaging with students and uploading our progress for the final term of the academic year in a buzzing school environment. The state government announced a complete lockdown in...

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.

In an interview with EI, Christina Colclough, future of work expert, discussed teacher adaptation to digitalisation, life-long learning, the digital divide, the relationship between virtual and physical learning, data, and related issues. She stressed that the use and abuse of data was a danger to worker and human rights.

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 released its publication Forward to School on 13 July. The document is based on the five pillars identified in the EI Guidance on Reopening Schools and Education Institutions released in April.

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...

The Covid-19 pandemic was the context for two major disruptions in education. The first was the disruption to schooling for millions of students worldwide, and a rapid shift to remote learning online. The second, closely related disruption was the entry of the commercial education technology sector into public education at...

Education International has launched groundbreaking new research which maps the extent of private actors’ influence in education since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research has been commissioned as part of Education International's Global Response to the Commercialisation and Privatisation of Education.

For the first time ever, the United Nations’ annual High-level Political Forum is being held virtually. Running from Tuesday, 7 July, to Thursday, 16 July, it sees governments gather to measure the progress made so far on meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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...