Teachers play a vital role in our society and Prime Minister Allen Chastanet on World Teachers’ Day, Wednesday October 5, has reiterated the immense influence all educators have on our lives.
“The government thanks Saint Lucia’s teachers for their continued hard work within our education system,” said the Prime Minister. “Good teachers are the backbone of this society and teaching continues to be one of the more complicated jobs, as our teachers continuously strive to find ways to inspire students to learn in this ever-evolving technological environment.”
The Prime Minister noted that teachers sometimes face difficult situations and have to be so much more than teachers at times.
“Our teachers must be appreciated and we must take note of the sacrifices they make every day to prepare and inspire our children. As we mark World Teachers Day, I want to state that among the aims of this government is to facilitate an environment suitable for teachers and one that encourages learning,” noted the Prime Minister.
“The Education Minister, Dr. Gale Rigobert, is hard at work looking at the way forward for the rehabilitation and modernization of our schools and this will be a focus of the government in the next financial year. Our plans for the School Bus Subsidy and the School Feeding Programme are on the fast track and these are just some of the policies which we have instituted to improve the learning environment. Once again, I wish all our educators, Happy World Teachers’ Day!”
This year’s World Teachers’ Day marks the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. It is also the first world Teachers’ Day (WTD) to be celebrated within the new Global Education 2030 Agenda adopted by the world community one year ago.
This year’s theme, “Valuing Teachers, Improving their Status”, embodies the fundamental principles of the fifty-year-old Recommendation while shining a light on the need to support teachers as reflected in the agenda’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).