Being a teacher is a challenging and sometimes underappreciated job. Yet for many it remains a calling. These teachers look beyond overcrowded classrooms, limited resources, and additional hours for extra-mural activities; instead, they see how our children blossom when they know that they are seen and heard.

With the celebration of World Teachers’ Day this Friday (5 October) FEDSAS’s message to these teachers is: We see you and we hear you. 

“While the BELAB legislation still dominates most discussions, storm clouds are gathering over budget cuts that will see thousands of educator posts cut. There are many conversations about education and teachers but few of these conversations are with the teachers in the classroom,” says Dr Jaco Deacon, CEO of FEDSAS (the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools).

Deacon says there is no education without educators. “While public discourse in the media and on other platforms is necessary, discussions at schools are also important. Talk to the teachers at your school. How do they experience the changing environment? What is the impact on the life of a teacher whose post was declared redundant? Listen to the plans and suggestions of the people who do the actual teaching.

On World Teachers’ Day, FEDSAS acknowledges teachers as the real classroom champions. “A public school belongs to the immediate community. On Friday, go to the school or use social media to express your gratitude for the difference your school makes in your community.”

FEDSAS’s vision is to maintain and promote quality education in all schools. “For quality education we require exceptional teachers who work in a school environment that puts teaching and learning first and where resources, professional development, and the well-being of teachers are prioritised,” says Deacon. “We will continue to leverage FEDSAS’s high-level input, our expertise, and our extensive network to contribute to an education environment where teachers can give expression to their calling to the benefit of all the children in our country.”

(FEDSAS is a voluntary association of school governing bodies of public schools and supports quality education in these schools. Nearly 2000 public schools are already members of FEDSAS).