Prof Irma Eloff, Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Pretoria, gave a lecture titled ‘Teacher education as an enabler for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals’ at a symposium on the topic ‘Reframing teacher education for learning equity’ held at the University of Newcastle, Australia, on 11 March 2016.

Prof Eloff’s presentation unpacked the shift in the Incheon Declaration that was promulgated in Korea in 2015. The declaration emphasises the critical role of teachers in terms of the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. In particular, global goal number 4, ‘Quality education’ indicates that teachers need to be qualified, well trained, motivated and supported.

Prof John Fischetti, Dean of the School of Education and Arts at the University of Newcastle, expressed his appreciation to Prof Eloff for bringing a unique African perspective to the discussions.

The universities of Pretoria and Newcastle have been engaged in a collaborative academic partnership for almost a decade, which has resulted in several publications (including one book) and seen several staff exchanges.