SNAT, on Friday, October 25, 2025, celebrated the Teachers Day, in Manzini, as part of the World Teachers Day, held annually on October 5 to celebrate all teachers around the globe.
This event commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966, ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the status of teachers; which sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment and teaching and learning conditions. World Teachers Day has been celebrated since 1994.
It is a day to celebrate how teachers are transforming education and also to reflect on the support they need to fully deploy their talent, vocation and to rethink the way ahead for the profession globally.
Teachers play vital roles in education systems, driving learning, inclusion and innovation in schools and societies. Yet, many work without collaborative structures to support their work and well-being. In many systems, the profession remains marked by isolation, fragmented structures and limited opportunities to build networks with peers, mentors and school leaders; affecting both educational quality and teacher retention.
We have seen, over the years in Eswatini that there has been tensions between teachers and government to an extent that many believe that teachers are not appreciated in our country. It is, however, gratifying that this administration has embraced teachers as their key stakeholders, such that both the principal secretary and the minister for Education and Training are now commonly referred to as ‘handsome’ and ‘gorgeous’, because of warm relations that teachers appreciate from their principals.
This year, World Teachers Day celebrations theme is: ‘Recasting teaching as a collaborative profession’, highlighting the transformative potential of collaboration for teachers, schools and education systems. Reframing teaching as inherently collaborative – supported by policies, practices and environments that value mutual support, shared expertise and joint responsibility – is essential to strengthen teaching, learning and teachers’ professional fulfilment.
To mark this day, the Joint Message from Audrey Azuay, the UNESCO Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo, the International Labour Organisation Director-General , Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director and David Edwards, the Education International General Secretary on the occasion of World Teachers Day 2025 states: “ Call on governments, partners and the international community to make a collective commitment to ensuring that collaboration is recognised as a norm within the teaching profession – because it is only through effective cooperation at all levels that we can build truly inclusive, equitable and resilient education systems worldwide.”
We all appreciate that teachers are the bedrock of countries development, as it is teachers who are the foundation of human capital development in any country. Children enter the school system where they are taught to read and write, indeed a tiresome process, that requires patience and love for the children and the profession. Citizens are all products of teachers who are not just merely there to earn a salary, but have demonstrated their utmost love for their learners that they spare no effort in preparing them for examinations, hence they use extra time at no expense to their employer to teach and help pupils revise their work. This gesture is indeed commendable teachers.
We pay tribute to many teachers who serve in hard-to-reach areas around the country, where schools have no sufficient accommodation, travel long distances many times by foot because of lack of public transport. Some schools lack also basic services like water supply, yet teachers endure such hardships without being compensated.
We have also seen teachers sacrificing their meager resources to assist pupils facing hardships, especially when there are food supply shortages, yet some pupils from poor background depended on meals at school. Some of the teachers also pay school fees for some learners because their parents are trapped in poverty, exacerbated by high unemployment. I am one of those who was assisted by my head teacher to pay my school fees. Thank you, teachers, for your generous spirit, may God bless you!
I would like specifically to applaud the current president of SNAT who has endured hardship, but has continued to serve teachers with diligent in his capacity as president. He has been fully participating in negotiating for better salaries for teachers, in spite of the challenges he is facing. Thanks, Nkhosi, for your life of service for fellow teachers. It is my hope that the Teaching Service Commission leadership will be able to resolve the impasse, so that the president can continue to practice the profession he loves.
As the theme calls for collaboration, it is indeed a call for action for all stakeholders in the education sector, including the Ministry of Education and Training, parents, school committees, learners themselves and the community at large.
“One book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world”– Malala Yousafzai.
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