Minister of Education Dr. Aishath Ali has stated teachers have made tremendous sacrifices for students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Noting in her address on World Teacher's Day that the theme for this year is Teachers at the Heart of Education Recovery, Minister Aisthath said the sacrifices teachers have made during the COVID-19 pandemic have allowed students to feel a sense of stability during these difficult times.
The minister expressed her appreciation for the courage and tenacity of teachers, who had to make use of new technologies and systems to continue educating students. She noted how the willingness of teachers to continue teaching students with new means has alleviated the negative social consequences which students could have suffered during the pandemic.
Furthermore, the education minister acknowledged that using the internet to hold classes online was a poor substitute to teaching in physical classrooms and said work needs to be done to recover from the time lost during the lockdown. She highlighted the theme of this year and said celebrating the work of teachers is as important as acknowledging the work of other essential workers.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) stated it chose the theme Teachers at the Heart of Education Recovery to focus on the support teachers need to fully contribute to the recovery process.