Every year on 5 October the world celebrates World Teachers' Day. The commemoration of the day was launched in 1994 by the United Nations Organization Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to celebrate the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. This was when governments unanimously recognised how important it is that society has competent, qualified and motivated teachers.

Indeed, teachers are important in running society. All professions owe their existence to a teacher. Lawyers, doctors, police officers, nurses, etc. have all been through the tutelage of a teacher. That is why it is so important to have competent, qualified and motivated teachers in a classroom. This year’s theme for World Teachers’ Day is ‘Teachers at the heart of education recovery’.

An attribute which teachers possess is dedication. The dedication of teachers is shown by their ‘round-the-clock’ work habits. There is no other time that this attribute was demonstrated better than during the COVID-19 pandemic. When many work places were shut down, teachers were expected to make a plan for the continuation of teaching and learning for their learners. When schools reopened, they were expected to put in place recovery plans for the lost teaching and learning time. Teachers don’t stop working at the end of formal school time. Their work continues right into the late hours of the night or early hours of the morning as they grade learners’ work or make lesson preparations. They  communicate with parents after school and on weekends. They arrive earlier than school starts to set up their day and provide extra assistance to struggling students.

In the middle of the pandemic in 2021, UNICEF reported that the impact of disrupted education in South Africa since the COVID-19 outbreak has been devastating, with learners between 75% and a full school year behind where they should be. Rotational attendance, sporadic school closures and days off for specific grades had resulted in school children losing 54% of learning time, reported the UNICEF. In the midst of this devastation, the nation looked to teachers to come up with a solution. Indeed they are key to education recovering.

With teaching classified a scarce skill, the University of Pretoria is playing a crucial role in the supply of teachers in the country. In 2022 the Faculty of Education produced 1 292 newly qualified teachers. This constitutes 23% of scare skills produced by the University and a contribution to the national skills pool. On this World Teachers’ Day, I would like pay tribute to all the teachers at the heart of education recovery.

Professor Chika Sehoole is the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Pretoria.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Pretoria.