OTTAWA, July 21, 2015 /CNW/ - The underfunding of public education and how it has opened the door wide to privatisation and commercialisation will be at the heart of debates tomorrow for delegates attending the 7th World Congress of Education International (EI).
At a news conference earlier this week, EI President Susan Hopgood and General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen highlighted the worrisome trend of underfunding of public education around the world and the need to "reclaim the teaching profession in a world where the value of teaching is being threatened by standardised methods and commercialisation." Van Leeuwen stressed that "education is a right" and that it must be free and accessible so that all children have the same opportunity to learn." The EI President turned her attention to the important issue of financing that is needed to make all of the goals achievable. She said that "$100 billion USD can be found if we tackle tax avoidance," which could be used to send every child to school and achieve the global development goals."
This is the first time Canada hosts the EI World Congress and some 2,000 delegates, observers and guests from around the world will jointly develop union strategies to promote quality of education for all.
Also, the Congress provides media with an excellent opportunity to discover the challenges faced by educators around the world and the common goals shared by representatives of 30 million education workers around the world. Many of the delegates can be available for interviews.
| Key events for Wednesday, July 22: |
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| 2 30-4 pm |
Resolutions and policy papers (Canada Hall 1-2-3) : Group A – Response to Privatisation, Commercialisation and Financing |
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| Resolution : Privatisation and commercialisation of education |
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| Enabling Resolution : Privatisation of education services |
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| Resolution aimed at countering the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the EU-US Translatantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Trade in International Services Agreement (TISA). |
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| Enabling resolution: Financing of Education |
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| Resolution on Community engagement |
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EI event schedule http://www.ei-ie.org/congress7/theprogramme/fullprogramme
Resolutions http://www.ei-ie.org/congress7/en/publications/resolutions
Details of the World Congress:
When: July 21-26, 2015
Where: Ottawa Congress Centre
Theme: Unite for Quality Education
EI Congress Web site: www.ei-ie.org/congress7/
EI Web site: www.ei-ie.org
SOURCE Canadian Teachers' Federation
EI Headquarters, Brussels: Timo Linsenmaier, 613-806-1873, Andrew King, 613-806-1875; EI Canadian Affiliate organizations: Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) Ottawa: Francine Filion, 613-688-4314; Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) Montreal : Christine Marceau, 514-235-5082; Fédération nationale des enseignantes et des enseignants du Québec, Confédération des syndicats nationaux, (FNEEQ-CSN) Montreal : France Désaulniers, 514-219-2947; Fédération québécoise des professeures et professeurs d'université (FQPPU) Montreal : Hans-Olivier Poirier Grenier, 514-755-5858; Fédération du personnel professionnel des universités et de la recherche (FPPU) Montreal; Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), Ottawa: Angela Regnier (CAUT), 613 726-5186
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