The Importance of Teachers
Primary school teaching is the single most important profession in the world. Teachers
pass on knowledge and values to children, prepare them for further education and for
working life and are main contributors to good education. This most important profession
however does not get the recognition it deserves. In the developed world, young people
dont want to become a primary school teacher anymore. In most developing countries the
profession does not attract qualified and ambitious people because it is poorly
remunerated. Gone are the days that a primary school teacher was a highly respected
person. To attain the goal of universal and good primary school education, teaching has to
become an attractive profession again.
Teachers are one of the main pillars of a sound and progressive society. They bear the
weight and responsibility of teaching, and, apart from parents, are the main source of
knowledge and values for children.
For a child between 6 and 12, there are basically three options: get no primary education,
get low quality primary education or get good quality primary education. In spite of our
world being immensely rich, the majority of children have to settle for option 1 or 2. At
this very moment, over a hundred million children get no primary education at all. And
over 500 million of them get it but the quality is low: they have little or no books, their
class-room is poorly equipped or simply doesnt exist, or they have a teacher whose level of