May 17, 2021 - World Education Support Personnel Day

Education Support Personnel Day World Education Support Personnel (ESP) Day was launched in connection with Education International’s (EI) first-ever ESP Conference in 2018.

The Conference endorsed a declaration on the rights and status of education workers, calling for its application worldwide. Similar to World Teachers’ Day, World Education Support Personnel Day is an occasion to celebrate the work of education workers across the globe, to emphasize their role in ensuring quality education, and to shine a light on the challenges that education workers still face at work.

Education International surveyed education workers across the globe and found that education workers feel undervalued and unrecognized in the school community. Many ESP workers around the world feel anxiety about the security of their employment and often leave work for summer shut downs unsure if they are returning to work in the fall. This creates a feeling of precarity for these workers, mostly women, and who often earn a living below the poverty line.

This year, during the COVID-19 pandemic, education workers have worked tirelessly and put their own health and the health of their families at risk to support Ontario’s most vulnerable and high needs students in public schools.

It is our sincere hope that our partners in education join us in celebrating World Education Support Personnel Day on May 16 every year so the important work that all education workers bring to the education and well-being of our students can be recognized and appreciated.