World Teachers' Day, also known as International Teachers Day, is held annually on October 5 since 1994, commemorates teacher organizations worldwide. Its aim is to mobilize support for teachers and to ensure that the needs of future generations will continue to be met by teachers. According to UNESCO, World Teachers' Day represents a significant token of the awareness, understanding, and appreciation displayed for the vital contributions that teachers make to education and development.
Education International (EI) (the global union federation which represents education professionals worldwide) strongly believes that World Teachers' Day should be internationally recognized and celebrated around the world. EI also believes that the principles of the 1966 and 1997 Recommendations should be considered for implementation in all nations. Over 100 countries observe World Teachers' Day. The efforts of Education International and its 401 member organizations have contributed to this widely spread recognition. Every year, EI launches a public awareness campaign to highlight the contributions of the teaching profession.
In many countries, Teachers' Day is a special day for the appreciation of teachers, and may include celebrations to honour them for their special contributions in a particular field area, or the community in general. The date on which Teachers' Day is celebrated varies from country to country. Teachers' days in different countries are distinct from World Teachers' Day, which is celebrated on 5 October.
The idea of celebrating Teachers' Day took root in many countries during the 20th century; in most cases, they celebrate a local educator or an important milestone in education (for example, Argentina has commemorated Domingo Faustino Sarmiento's death on 11 September since 1915, while India has celebrated the birthday of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (5 September) since 1962, although Hindus, Jains and Buddhists have been honouring teachers by celebrating Guru Purnima for centuries. This is the primary reason why countries celebrate this day on different dates, unlike many other International Days.
