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For the education system to recover from the COVID pandemic, it requires more investment in the well-being, training, professional development and working conditions of the world’s 71 million educators, UN agencies chiefs said on Monday, on the occasion of the World Teachers’ Day.

“Today we celebrate the exceptional dedication and courage of all teachers, their capacity to adapt and to innovate under very challenging and uncertain conditions”, said UNESCO head Audrey Azoulay, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) chief Henrietta Fore, top International Labour Organization (ILO) official, Guy Ryder, and Education International’s leader, David Edwards, in a joint statement.

World Teachers’ Day, celebrated annually on 5 October, provides an important opportunity to call on Governments and the international community to spotlight teachers and their challenges, and share effective and promising policy responses. 

“They are the principal actors of the global education recovery efforts and are key in accelerating progress towards inclusive and equitable quality education for every learner, in every circumstance”, the statement continued.

From using technology creatively to providing socio-emotional support to their students, and reaching those most at risk of falling behind, teachers have been at the heart of the educational response to the COVID-19 crisis.