Western Cape Education Department to Honour World Teachers' Day

On Saturday, 5 October is a celebration to thank all our teachers on World Teachers' Day.

In 1994, UNESCO inaugurated World Teachers’ Day in order to pay tribute to the contributions and achievements of teachers. Saturday, 5 October was selected as the date to celebrate teachers as it represents the same date in 1966 when a special intergovernmental conference adopted the UNESCO recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers.

On 5 October, we will be joined by over 100 countries, each paying tribute to their teachers and their immense contribution towards education.

I would like to acknowledge the commitment of our teachers to their profession and their dedication in providing our learners with a quality education.

Many of our teachers are simply not recognised often enough for their outstanding efforts in, often, very tough circumstances.

In fact, in recent years, some teachers have too often been the subject of unfair and unjustified generalised attacks and criticisms.

Our teachers are the key to quality education and I would like to thank them personally for their tireless effort and commitment.

In light of this celebration, I would also like to encourage members of the public and those that are interested in education to visit our website to view You Tube videos of our top teachers who won Provincial Teaching Awards over the last three years.

The public can access these videos by visiting our home page (wced.school.za) and clicking the orange button, “Western Cape’s Top Teachers”.

The teachers are examples of best practice and are an inspiration for all those considering teaching as a career.

(See: http://wced.school.za/comms/WCEDYouTubeChannel/WCTeachingAwards-YouTube-index.html).

They also reflect the level of professional talent that we have in the Western Cape.