To learn more, or to re-watch the session in full:
On 1 October, a compelling expert panel explored teachers’ work and education outcomes in emergency settings, in an online session to mark World Teachers Day 2024, co-organised and moderated by NORRAG and the Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies (EiE Hub).
Teachers are an indispensable part of children’s growth and development. And yet we find, in emergencies and among displaced populations, that teachers are not being adequately valued or supported. As a result, recent studies from UNESCO have tracked continued poor working conditions for teachers, and a shortfall of some 44 million teachers worldwide.
This can be, among other things, because teachers’ poor pay and conditions are forcing them into impossible choices between their profession and their own families’ well-being.
“Teaching is one of the most stressful professions in the best times, let alone in emergency settings” said Danni Falk, Education Researcher, ERICC / International Rescue Committee. “And insecurity exacerbates this enormously. Threats of physical violence affect teachers working in places affected by conflict, and also impede their ability to carry out their roles and responsibilities towards their students.”
The insecure or dangerous conditions that many teachers work in can lead to unreasonable burdens falling onto temporary and non-certified teachers, including volunteers, working without adequate support or resources. This is especially true among displaced communities.
“Teachers who are refugees, in particular, face unique challenges that prevent them from being fully valued,” said Nina Papadopoulos, Senior Advisor, UNHCR. “Their work is often impacted by systemic barriers, their pay can be unstable, with payment delays frequent. Refugee teachers often work for far less than their peers in the national education system, often receiving ‘incentive payments’ rather than actual salaries.”
Several measures are being worked on to help address these problems, such as quicker and simpler ways of ensuring teachers’ qualifications are recognised across jurisdictions, and an international fund dedicated to ensuring teacher salaries are supported in emergencies.
“There are also other things that can be done through planning, systems and policies,” said Carlos Vargas Tamez, Head of the Secretariat, UNESCO Taskforce on Teachers for Education 2030. “But above all, we must promote teachers’ voices – we often see strategies and plans which fail because they don’t take into account the teachers who know, first hand, what is needed to make initiatives work.”
Contributors agreed on the need for more research and data on teachers in emergency situations, for example data on the cost of supporting – and failing to support – teachers. There needs to be more assessment of the ‘payoffs’ of investment in teachers, for society, for peace and for the economy.
