 Hello, I welcome you all on the special occasion of World Teacher's Day, that is on 5th October, 2023. So happy Teacher's Day to all of you. I'm Dr. Rashmi Singh, Assistant Professor, Department of Education, SS Khanna Girls to the College, University of Allahabad. And this time I'm going to discuss with you the importance of World Teacher's Day, why it has been celebrated, the reasons to celebrate and the difference between our Teacher's Day, National Teacher's Day, which we are celebrating on 5th of September and the World Teacher's Day, 5th October, 2023. What is the difference? And what are the reasons to celebrate? What is the theme of this year's World Teacher's Day? Okay, so let's start. First of all, teacher and teaching. Mariam Webster's definition of a teacher is one whose occupation is to instruct. A collective definition of a teacher is someone who yearns to help children learn, watch them grow and make a meaningful difference in the world. Teacher support network, 2007. So it is the definition of teacher, definition, we all know what a teacher is, what are his or her duties, what he or she can do to the society and all. And what about teaching? The first thing that you must know about teaching as a profession is that teaching is about inspiring and motivating students to realize and exceed their potential. The greatest teachers of all time have devoted their lives to inspiring and empowering their students to achieve great things and be good human beings. So teaching is a noble profession, we all know about it. Then what is the reason to celebrate International Teacher's Day or World Teacher's Day? So World Teacher's Day is held annually on 5th October to celebrate all teachers around the globe. It commemorates the anniversary of adopting the 1966 ILO, what is ILO? International Labour Organization oblique UNESCO recommendations concerning the status of teachers which sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers and standards for their preparation and further education, recruitment, employment and teaching and learning conditions. So why it is celebrating on 5th October each year? Because it celebrates the anniversary of adopting the 1966 UNESCO recommendations. Because in 1966 it has been accepted the recommendation on 5th October. Hence afterwards each year it has been celebrated on 5th October to celebrate all teachers around the globe. And what is UNESCO? Each one of us has known about it that UNESCO is United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Then this is the logo of ILO, International Labour Organization and EI, what is EI? Education International. So the recommendation concerning the status of higher education teaching personnel was adopted in 1997 to complement the 1966 recommendation by covering teachers' personnel in higher education. So World Teacher's Day has been celebrated every year since 1994, means it has been celebrated since 1994 to commemorate the recommendation of 1966 ILO. So World Teacher's Day is co-convened in partnership with the ILO, UNICEF and EI. So why we are celebrating the International World Teacher's Day on 5th October to commemorate the anniversary of 1966 recommendations of ILO or UNESCO? And since 1994 it has been celebrated each year. So what is the purpose of celebration? Its point is to centre upon acknowledging, evaluating and enhancing the instructors of the world and to give a chance to consider the issues identified with educators and the teaching process in general. As indicated by UNESCO, World Teacher's Day speaks to a massive token of the mindfulness, comprehension and thankfulness shown for the fundamental commitment that educators make to the advancement of teaching. So why it has been celebrated? To give honour, to give acknowledgement, to enhancing the instructors' recommendations to the teaching fraternity, to all over the world, to all these students. The Day also honours teachers in light of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4. We all have heard about SDG Sustainable Development Goals. So in which the goal number 4, that is Sustainable Development Goal 4 has been concentrated on the quality education. So this Day also honours teachers in the light of UN SDG on education which defines access to education and which sort of education quality education. So access to education and quality teachers as crucial to fulfilling the UN's Education 2030 agenda. World Teacher's Day identifies, celebrates and motivates the accomplishments, contributions and efforts of all teachers around the world on this day. Means we have to celebrate the accomplishment and contribution of each and every teacher around the globe on this day. We call on countries to ensure that teachers are trusted and recognised as knowledge producers, reflective practitioners and policy partners. So it is the reason to celebrate the World Teacher's Day. And what was the previous year theme? We all are aware about the fact that in 2022 from 2019 to 2022 the world has been suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic. So the theme of World Teacher's Day 2022 was the transformation of education begin with teachers. It is very clear that education cannot be transformed without the support and efforts of teachers. So UNESCO presented this theme for Teacher's Day with respect to their determined and diligent efforts in the crucial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. And what is the present year theme? The present year theme is the teachers we need for the education we want, the global imperative to reverse the teacher's shortage. We all are aware about this fact that all over the globe, throughout the globe, at each stage of education, be it primary education, secondary education or higher education, there is acute teacher shortage. People are generally not preferred to become a teacher. Why? Because there is less salary in comparison to other fields and there is a decline of, you can say, deterioration of values between teachers and students. They do not get proper due respect and all. So the present year theme is the teachers we need for the education we want because as good the teachers will be, as good the outcome of the educational process will be. So the celebration will address the unprecedented global teacher shortage and showcase practices too so that we can attract, retain and motivate teachers and educators to become teachers, to become, to enter into the teaching services. We will advocate for a dignified and valued teaching profession where the teacher can be valued, where the profession will be dignified, analyze its challenges and showcase inspiring practices to attract, retain and motivate teachers and educators. So this theme is very relevant in accordance to the need and the challenges of the educational system throughout the globe. And what is the difference with our national teachers day which we are celebrating on 5th of September? So we all are aware, we all have known about this that for India, the teachers day celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of its second president, Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan. While while teachers day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 recommendations of UNESCO regarding which? Regarding the status, teaching practices and rights of teachers so that their accomplishment and their contributions can be valued, can be dignified, can be, can get better salary and all. Okay, so in what way we can conclude this topic? We can conclude that we call on countries to ensure that teachers must be trusted, they must be recognized as knowledge producers, reflective practitioners and policy partners. In addition to this, countries must invest in education field of their GDP, their gross domestic product. They are per capita income to increase the per capita income and prioritize the status of teachers in global education recovery efforts so that every individual has access to qualified and supported teachers. Our very own national education policy 2020 has also emphasized upon the recruitment of best individuals as teachers under the heading of capable and energized faculty. So that because as good as the teachers will be the product of teaching learning process that is our students will be the best product throughout the globe and they become globally competitive. They have global competitiveness and can become global competitors to challenge the unprecedented challenges to accept to tackle the unprecedented challenges of this world. Okay. So thank you all. And once again, happy international teachers day to all of you. Thank you.