Joint statement on World Teachers’ Day 2026

5 October 2026 - On World Teachers’ Day 2026, we, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNRWA and ILO, join educators, learners, families and communities across the Kingdom in celebrating teachers and recognizing their crucial contribution to Jordan’s development and future.

This year’s theme, “Standing with Teachers: 60 Years of Protecting the Profession, Advancing Its Status and Shaping Our Futures,” marks the 60th anniversary of the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, which continues to guide global efforts to strengthen the teaching profession and advance quality education for all through respect for labour rights, social dialogue, equal pay and decent working conditions.

Teachers are at the heart of every successful education system. They inspire learning, nurture creativity, foster critical thinking and help shape more inclusive, resilient and prosperous societies.

In Jordan, teachers have shown exceptional dedication in supporting the learning and well-being of all children and young people, including refugee and vulnerable learners. Their commitment remains central to efforts to improve education quality and expand opportunities for every learner.

Supporting teachers’ dedication means ensuring they have the time, practical tools and sustained professional support needed to help every child build strong foundational skills, recover missed learning and prepare for further education, work and adulthood. This includes equipping teachers to identify learning difficulties early and adapt to their teaching so that every child, including children with disabilities, can learn and thrive in a safe and inclusive classroom. Jordan continues to invest in strengthening the teaching profession through teacher preparation, continuous professional development and instructional leadership. 

International data indicate that virtually all primary school teachers in Jordan are professionally trained, while recent initiatives have provided professional learning opportunities to more than 3,250 educators, over 260 vocational education teachers and over 3,500 teachers in 161 UNRWA schools across the Kingdom. These efforts contribute to advancing opportunity, inclusion and long-term resilience for all children and young people in Jordan, including Palestine Refugees, by enabling educators to respond to evolving learning needs and apply innovative and inclusive teaching practices. Building on this progress, the recently launched Jordan Education Strategic Plan 2026–2030 places teacher development, quality education, AI-enabled digital readiness, inclusion and system resilience at the centre of the country’s education reform agenda, recognizing empowered and well-supported teachers as essential to achieving quality, inclusive and future-ready education for all.

Standing with teachers, women and men, means recognizing the challenges they face. Across Jordan, as elsewhere, teachers work in an increasingly complex environment, responding to diverse learning needs, digital transformation, and climate- and emergency-related pressures. Sustaining a strong teaching profession requires continued attention to teachers’ working conditions, professional autonomy, career development, well-being and meaningful participation in decisions that affect their profession.