Date: 24-30 April 2006

Right now, over 100 million children wake up every day without the hope that education offers. These children know AIDS, know poverty, know hard labour, know hunger... but they will never know a teacher. There are simply not enough teachers to ensure every child can get a quality education.

The UN estimates that at least 15 million more teachers are needed for the universal primary education goal alone. There is a desperate need for more qualified teachers - many low income countries currently save money by hiring teachers with little training, and pay them poorly. Teachers are under pressure, coping with enormous classes, poor living and working conditions and many are affected by HIV/AIDS. Yet good teachers are essential for children to learn, female teachers are particularly important for helping girls stay in school.

During this year's Global Action Week for Education, the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) coalition will be watching politicians, to ensure they keep their promises of enabling every child to go to school and be taught by a qualified teacher.

GCE is demanding rich countries to:

increase aid and cancel debt
support countries' long-term education plans including teacher salaries
end harmful donor conditions that prevent countries employing sufficient numbers of professional teachers

GCE demands poor countries to:

increase public spending on education
ensure quality teaching by training teachers to a professional standard
pay teachers a living wage and give them a say in education policy-making
reduce class sizes and improve classroom conditions

Information on how to participate in the Global Action Week:

Visit the Global Campaign for Education website [http://www.campaignforeducation.org/] to get a comprehensive resource pack or email actionweek@campaignforeducation.org.

Visit the NetAid website [http://www.netaid.org/act_now/gce/] which provides options to get involved in this year's campaign, facts, figures and an action pack.

Resources

Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2006: Literacy for Life (UNESCO) [http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6546&flag=report]
Education Fact Sheet (NetAid) [http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=7864&flag=report]
CRIN's thematic page on education [http://www.crin.org/themes/ViewTheme.asp?id=7]

[Source: CRIN]