Education Minister Dr Aishath Shiham has said the government has achieved significant success in raising the standards of local teachers.
She made the remarks in her message on the occasion of World Teachers' Day, which was observed across the country on Wednesday.
In her message, Dr Aishath Shiham said the Government had undertaken numerous efforts to value teachers and improve their status over the past three years.
“It is the government’s policy to ensure educators are well-trained and professionally qualified,” she said, adding that “every teacher in the country now has at least a diploma level qualification.”
“With the ongoing programme to train 3000 teachers to degree level, a bachelor’s degree will become the minimum qualification level for teachers in the country within the next five years,” she added.
Schools across the country marked World Teachers’ Day with special functions.
To value the hard work of teachers, parents have organised special events to mark the day in schools across Male’ City and the atolls, and the activities are scheduled to continue throughout the week.
Some schools in the country have delayed programmes to celebrate World Teachers’ Day due to the ongoing GCE A’ Level and O’ Level examinations while other schools observed the day yesterday.
World Teachers' Day, observed annually on October 5 since 1994, commemorates teachers’ organizations worldwide. Its aim is to mobilize support for teachers and to ensure that the needs of future generations will continue to be met by teachers. According to UNESCO, World Teachers' Day represents a significant token of the awareness, understanding and appreciation displayed for the vital contribution that teachers make to education and development.
This year World Teachers’ Day marks the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. It is also the first World Teachers’ Day (WTD) to be celebrated within the new Global Education 2030 Agenda adopted by the world community one year ago.
This year’s theme, “Valuing Teachers, Improving their Status”, embodies the fundamental principles of the fifty-year-old Recommendation while shining a light on the need to support teachers as reflected in the agenda’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A specific education goal, SDG4, pledges to “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all."