Go Public: Fund Education

“If you don’t have a strong supply of well-prepared teachers, nothing else in education can work” - Linda Darling Hammond

According to UNESCO, the world needs 44 million more teachers to achieve universal primary and secondary education by 2030. Unlike previous assessments concerning the shortage of qualified teachers which appeared to be isolated to developing countries, the shortage is now impacting all countries around the world, large or small, rich or poor. Go Public: Fund Education is EI’s flagship global campaign. It’s an urgent, and much needed, call for governments, intergovernmental organisations and international financing institutions to invest in teachers and invest in public education systems; the necessary precondition to addressing the global teacher shortage.

A BREAKTHROUGH

“Just as teachers support us all, it’s time to support teachers.” Antonio Guetrres, UN Secretary General.

As a result of tireless advocacy, we achieved a breakthrough. At the Transforming Education Summit in September 2022, the Secretary General announced the creation of the High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession. Experts from around the world were invited to be part of the Panel: former presidents, ministers of education, academics, representatives from civil society, the students’ union and Education International.

In February 2024, the Panel released it’s much-awaited report and recommendations providing a blueprint for the change needed to arrest and reverse the global teacher shortage. The recommendations are written with a clarity not normally seen in UN documents. They reflect a level of support from the United Nations for our profession that is unprecedented.

To attract and retain the teachers we need, the recommendations call on governments to ensure competitive, fair, and professional salaries. They also call for secure employment, good working conditions, and, against the backdrop of ever-increasing workloads and work intensification, work life balance. Precarious employment and the use of contract teachers and unqualified personnel must come to an end. Teacher well-being is a priority.

When it comes to teacher professional practice, the High-Level Panel recommends that all teachers have initial teacher training that is publicly funded and a university degree. It also encourages the provision of stipends for teachers in training. It recommends access to quality continuous professional development that is free and part of a teacher's official duties and co-designed with the profession. Teacher professional autonomy must be respected and teachers must be given the time and resources to collaborate and create communities of practice.

A strong commitment to gender equality, equity and diversity cuts across the recommendations. Working environments must be inclusive, safe, and non-discriminatory for teachers in all their diversity. Women’s leadership must be encouraged.

Refugee teachers and displaced teachers should be provided with pathways into the education workforce of host communities. When a teacher is hired to work in camps for refugees or displaced persons, their labour rights must be respected. Teachers and education staff working in situations of crisis, disasters and conflict MUST BE PAID!

The recommendations put social dialogue and, importantly, collective bargaining at the heart of transforming education. Policies in education should be developed with teacher unions at the table and employment conditions should be determined through social dialogue, including collective bargaining. And, yes, the Panel even reaffirms the right to strike.

The recommendations are solid and comprehensive, but we know that none can become a reality without financing. The Panel calls for guaranteed equitable public funding for education and sustainable investment in the teaching profession. Austerity measures are rejected.

Tax revenue is the best way to ensure sustainable education financing. In addition, debt relief and forgiveness should be considered to help countries ensure education funding. The National Education Union has produced an outstanding report Prioritise teachers to transform education: How tackling the global teacher shortage can unlock the UK’s development agenda.

BIOGRAPHY

Angelo Gavrielatos is Education International’s Go Public Fund Education: Campaign Manager. Between 2020 and 2024, Angelo was President of the NSW Teachers’ Federation. Prior to his election, Angelo led Educational International’s Global Response to the growing commercialisation and privatisation of education. Between 2008 and 2015, Angelo was the Federal President of the Australian Education Union (AEU). Education International is the global union federation representing 32 million teachers and other education workers across 178 countries.

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Angelo Gavrielatos • February 2, 2025

Sparks Bristol

By Ann Beatty • April 4, 2025

Sparks Bristol is a collaborative community project initially envisioned by The Global Goals Centre, (GGC) more of which below. A few years ago, GGC took over an empty Marks and Spencer store and that’s how Sparks was born. Sparks is a department store with a difference, co-created by Global Goals Centre and Artspace Lifespace. On the ground floor is a huge range of shops, installations, events and more. Upstairs is a hub for local artists, it offers affordable studios as well as rehearsal and performance space. The Global Goals Centre is a Bristol-based educational charity inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals. (SDGs). GGC believe the SDG’s or Global Goals as they are sometimes known, can be reached, with imaginative solutions and widespread education and engagement. They work with partners to promote creative solutions and deliver ground breaking projects that work towards these ambitious goals. The Steve Sinnott Foundation supported the Global Goals Centre with seed funding when it first started over 5 years ago. This month we went to visit them to see how they are getting on and we were taken aback by the volume of work they have achieved since they started. It is amazing to see how though working together with other local community groups it has grown into the vibrant centre it is today. All of the creative projects they host are linked to the SDGs. They cover topics that tackle poverty, education, climate change, fashion recycling and upcycling, to name a few.

Spring is Here! Looking Ahead!

By Ann Beatty • March 28, 2025

Spring is definitely here, daffodils, blossom and crocuses are all basking in the bright sunshine. There is still a chill in the air in the shade but it's happening and all the seeds that were sown over the last few months are coming to fruition. At the Foundation, we have been planning the year ahead and our Positive Periods and Prevention of Gender Based Violence programmes got underway this weekend in Haiti and Ghana. These projects will have a long-lasting effect on the lives of the women and girls who take part: tackling the root causes of gender-based violence and enabling girls to attend school every day when they have their period, to feel safe at school and know how to take action when they are faced with violence. These are the first of many projects planned for the year ahead as we continue to work towards Education for All children everywhere.

Igniting a movement for education for all

By Hannah Frisch • March 7, 2025

The outlook for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) on global education is far from rosy. But a gloomy future isn’t inevitable. Disappointing statistics are the result of political choices that can be shifted and there are thousands of youth, grassroots activists and civil society organisations across the UK advocating for global education to make these changes. We need more people involved to build the momentum, we need to make a difference in challenging circumstances. You can help! Here’s how; Making global education a UK priority The UK is an important donor and champion for global education. However, education has been gradually deprioritised on the development agenda. Global education spending has plummeted from 13.5% of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2013 to just 3.5% in 2023, and education was one of the sectors hit hardest by the abandonment of the 0.7% gross national income (GNI) target for ODA. With Labour’s annual budget confirming another reduction in the aid budget, funding for global education is under threat of being cut even further unless we stand together to say this can’t happen. While education is a domestic priority for the new Government, it has yet to emerge as a strong theme in their development agenda. As the Labour Party continues to develop their approach there is a unique opportunity for advocates to connect these dots and make the case for why education must be a key part of the Government’s international plans. For the Government to take action it needs to hear demand for change. There are many issues MPs recognise are important, but if they do not hear about these issues from constituents it can be hard for MPs to be vocal about them in Parliament. Following an election where many parliamentary seats were won with tight margins, MPs need to hear from the people they represent that global education must be on their agenda. With over half of MPs elected for the first time this year, many are actively looking for a steer on what issues to work on. We can give them one! How to Get Involved Write to your MP about why global education needs to be a bigger priority for the UK Government and encourage members of groups you are a part of, such as your union branch or a local community group, to do the same. This can have a real impact on your MP’s interest and ability to act for global education. You can also connect with other grassroots activists and get resources for taking action from international development advocacy organisations like Results UK. You can learn more about Results UK’s grassroots network on our website. If you are a teacher, get your school involved in the Send My Friend to School Campaign (SMF). Send My Friend is a UK civil society coalition advocating for SDG4 which supports a mass UK schools campaign to amplify student voices calling for universal quality education in solidarity with their peers around the world. Free campaign packs are available on the SMF website for primary and secondary levels with everything teachers need to run the campaign in their school. Parliamentarians can learn more about education issues and how to act by joining the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Global Education, a cross-party group that brings together Parliamentarians interested in the right to education and provides them with knowledge and resources to be champions of the issue. By joining our voices through collective action, we can make a real difference in moving the needle on this issue. Together we have a chance to rechart the course for the realisation of quality education for all. BIOGRAPHY Hannah Frisch is the Senior Policy and Parliamentary Advocacy Officer for Education at Results UK and a Co-Chair of the Send My Friend to School Policy and Parliamentary Working Group. She is a policy advisor for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Global Education in the UK Parliament.