World Teachers’ Day: History & Significance; All You Need To Know

For years teachers have made immense contributions towards different societies by bridging the gap between the privileged and the underprivileged. It has been a profession that has played a key role in the character development of individuals in their early stages of life. Notably, they are the ones who become your second parents for a major chunk of your life. From teaching you basic subject lessons, to solving your queries and problems to imparting life skills to whatnot, teachers are the ones who selflessly take care of you just like their own children. In fact, in today’s day and age, it’s impossible to imagine a world without teachers. Therefore, in order to recognise the contributions and efforts they have put to make this world a better place, we celebrate World Teachers’ Day every year.

World Teachers’ Day: History and Significance

Every year World Teachers’ Day is celebrated on October 5 to highlight the significance and role of teachers in transforming society. The day commemorates the anniversary concerning adoption of the 1966 ILO/ UNESCO recommendation that deals with rights and responsibilities of teachers while also setting standards for their employment, recruitment, teaching and working conditions. Since 1994, the day has been celebrated every year.

What is the theme for World Teachers’ Day 2024?

The theme for this year’s World Teachers’ Day is “Valuing Teacher Voices: Towards a new social contract for education.” Notably, this year’s celebration will focus on the key role played by teachers in shaping the future of education while also bringing special attention on incorporating their inputs in the framing of education policies and decision-making processes.

How can you celebrate World Teachers’ Day?

1.Thank the teachers

No matter wherever you go and what you become, it’s never too late to thank your teachers for the guidance and support that they have showered upon yourself in your life journey

2.Support educational initiatives

If you wish to see notable changes in the field of education, it’s important to support and donate those organisations who work towards imparting quality education among underprivileged societies

3.Conducting and organising commemorative events

You can organise and conduct virtual events and seminars focusing on issues related to education by inviting teachers and professors in your locality. This move will encourage everyone to actively participate in the academic development of their children

4.Advocate for education

As a responsible citizen of the country, you should prioritise and show support for those policies that mandates education

How’s the Teachers’ Day in India different from World Teachers’ Day?

Besides honouring the effort and dedication put up by teachers in transforming the society, Teachers’ Day is also celebrated in India to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan who was the former President of India.

Though World Teachers’ Day is celebrated across the world to honour the efforts of teaching professionals who have played a significant role in transforming the field of education, but the rosy picture painted by the society shouldn’t shun us into overlooking the challenges faced by them as the grass is not always greener on the other side.

So taking this insight into consideration, let’s have a look at the problems related to the educational industry in general:

1.Stress & burnout

Teachers are now under constant pressure to innovate and perform, however, due to overwork and exhaustion teachers do experience stress, which can have a negative impact on their mental health and personal wellbeing. As per a review published in PubMed, which aimed at measuring stress, burnout, anxiety and depression among teachers, the prevalence of burnout ranged from 25.12% to 74%, while stress ranged from 8.3% to 87.1%. Meanwhile, anxiety and depression both clocked to 41.2% and 77% from 38% and 4%. In addition to this, a survey conducted by Zamit found that 55% of the teachers in India struggle with completion of regular tasks due to stress.

2.Underpayment of remuneration

Teaching is considered one to be one of the most noble professions in the world, however, it is also mired with harsh realities. As per UNESCO’s State of the Education Report for India 2020, close to 42% of the teachers across private and government sectors in India earn only about ₹10,000 on an average. The situation is even more startling in private schools, where about 69% of the teachers are working without contracts making them vulnerable to salary cuts, inhuman working conditions and uncertain future of employment.

3.Student behaviour and disciplinary issues

During the course of the day teachers have to deal with various students who have different nature and personalities. Notably, managing classroom discipline and students have remained burning concerns for the teachers. As per a survey done by the UK Department of Education, close to 70% of the teachers experienced behavioural problems among students. If institutions fail to pay attention towards these issues it can often lead to verbal altercations and arguments, thereby lowering teacher’s morale and instructional quality.

4.Communication with parents

It’s extremely important for parents to show active interest in a child's academic development, which will in turn make a teacher’s job easy. However, in reality this is not the case. As teachers are required to perform a lot of tasks, it’s very difficult for them to interact with every student. And, if the situation continues to repeat, the gap between the teachers and the students will continue to increase.

What are the ways to improve the working condition of teachers?

1.Increase the number of teachers in educational institutions

Teachers are often overburdened with a lot of work due to lack of manpower in the institutions, which often leads to burnout and stress. However, this problem can be eradicated provided, recruitment of adequate teaching professionals takes place on a regular basis. As per a UNESCO report titled ‘2021 State of the Education Report for India: No Teacher, No Class’, India has a deficit of close to 1 million school teachers. In fact, about 19% of the teaching positions in India, which totals to 11.16 lakh lie vacant in the country.

2.Extending support for mental health

With added pressure from administration and the constant need to innovate, teaching professionals are often vulnerable to burnout and stress. So, in order to address this pressing issue, school administrations can organise motivational as well as spiritual sessions for their teachers, which will in turn help in coping up with this dynamic environment.

3.Improving pay scale among teachers

As discussed above, administrators should set a decent remunerative structure for the teachers. This will ensure growth as well as healthier retention among teaching professionals.