Uganda: World Teacher’s Day declared national public holiday

The joint EI and UNESCO World Teachers' Day celebrates the role teachers play in providing quality education at all levels. This enables children and adults of all ages to learn to take part in and contribute to their local community and global society. UNATU General Secretary, Teopista Birungi Mayanja, explained that thanks to relentless efforts and a successful advocacy strategy by her union for the last 10 years, the President of the Republic of Uganda, His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, agreed to designate the day as a national holiday as a token of his government’s appreciation for the contribution of teachers to national development. Although the decision will not take effect until October 2011, President Museveni will attend and oversee national celebrations organised by UNATU in October 2010. He will launch the UNATU Educators of Excellence Awards which will be given to outstanding performing teachers. To mark the occasion, the awards have been billed as the Presidential Educators of Excellence Awards. UNATU’s Mayanga explained that EI and its members have played a significant contribution to the Union’s advocacy work and wished to thank everyone who supported her colleagues. She said: “this is a very welcome step forward for educators in Uganda.” EI also welcomes the initiative by the Ugandan authorities and encourages all members to send a congratulatory message to Teopista Birungi Mayanja, General Secretary of the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU), to show support for their success in securing government support for World Teachers’ Day. Messages of support can be sent to the following email address: teopista.birungi@unatu.org

[Fri, 24 Sep 2010 18:36:22 +0000] | DIGG THIS