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Teachers play a key role in the development of children, supporting them to gain knowledge and become responsible and productive members of society.

One of the most important aspects of any society is the younger generation; they represent the future direction and course that society will take. Teachers can enrich a generation of children so that the future is a safe, secure and better place to live for every person in the society.

October 5 was the World Teachers’ Day – a day devoted to appreciating, assessing and improving the educators of the world.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, UNESCO Phnom Penh is celebrating the event this year in the presence of His Excellency Dr Hang Chuon Naron in order to show our deep appreciation for the vital contribution that teachers have made in education and development of the Cambodian society.

These celebrations recognise the important role of teachers and galvanise support for their job as educators and also as role models. WTD is a natural extension of UNESCO’s year round work of promoting teachers, ensuring that this profession, so vital to the healthy functioning of society, is itself “healthy”.

WTD is an opportunity to rethink national issues facing teachers from an international perspective and to benchmark progress made by national teachers in a global context.

In just over three decades, Cambodia has grown an impressive teaching force of 86,000, which continues to grow. 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. Learning is not possible without professional, well-trained, well-supported, accountable and valued teachers.

In a survey carried out by the NGO Education Partnership (NEP) among 1,100 people throughout Cambodia, more than 90 per cent of respondents believe that teaching is a good profession, and two-thirds of them believe that teachers are respected or highly respected in Cambodian society.

Teachers pass on knowledge and values to children, prepare them for further education and working life and are main contributors to good education. This most important profession, however, does not get the recognition it deserves.

The profession does not attract qualified and ambitious people because it is poorly remunerated. To attain the goal of universal and good primary school education, we need to make teaching an attractive profession again.

Cambodia now faces a shortage of qualified primary teachers. This is especially true in remote, rural and disadvantaged areas, where the pupil-to-teacher ratio can be as high as 66.8 to one in Ratanakiri.