Regional Committee passes resolutions to address urgent issues

The Education International Africa Regional Committee (EIARC) passed four resolutions on Eswatini, climate change, attacks on education and vaccine equity during its virtual meeting held on 9 and 10 March 2022.
 
The EIARC, was seriously concerned about the brutal attacks on workers on 20th October 2021 in Mbabane and  the incessant violation of trade union and workers’ rights by the Government of Eswatini to the extent that SNAT, the EI affiliate in Eswatini cannot effectively engage the Government on all matters pertaining to the welfare, development, and retention of teaching personnel in the country. The EIARC called on the Government  to stop violation of workers’ rights and to engage in genuine dialogue with the union. Find the resolution here.
 
Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, particularly in Southern Africa as shown by the recent cyclones in Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe which destroyed educational infrastructure and displaced educators and students.  The EIARC therefore called on  African governments to take urgent action to ensure disaster prevention and preparedness for educators, students and communities, as well as incorporate quality climate change education into the curriculum. Read the full resolution here.
 
The EIARC was further concerned that in several African countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, and Nigeria, education is threatened by extremist groups who kidnap, molest, hurt, and kill educators and students. The  military conflicts prevent millions of children  from the opportunity to access quality education. The EIARC therefore called on the African Union (AU) and governments to strengthen the monitoring and reporting of attacks on education. The Committee urged the AU and its member states to take urgent action to protect schools and all education institutions from attack. Here is the resolution. 
 
Vaccine shortages, storage and distribution challenges continue to hinder access to vaccines for the African population, educators and students and the United Nations’ COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access facility (COVAX) is yet to deliver on its promise to ensure vaccine equity. The EIARC consequently urged governments and the international community to recognise teachers and education support personnel as frontline workers and prioritise them in national vaccination programmes. The full resolution is available here.

[Tue, 15 Mar 2022 09:51:00 +0000] | DIGG THIS


Website Development and Design by Cyblance