Ugandan teacher named on UN education board

Ms Teopista Birungi Mayanja

Kampala. A Ugandan teacher has been appointed to a 20-member International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity which works to reverse the lack of financing for education around the world.
Ms Teopista Birungi Mayanja, also Founder of the Uganda National Teachers Union, will join a diverse group of individuals to pursue the commission’s focus to mobilise $40 billion (about Shs146.4 trillion) per year so that all children in low and middle-income countries have equal opportunity through secondary education.
At the time of her appointment, she was working as the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) deputy director education services.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) figures show that the number of children and adolescents who are out of school were 124 million in 2013.
The press statement issued by the office of the Education International, a global union federation of teachers’ trade unions education stated that the Commission is co-convened by the Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway, president Michelle Bachelet of Chile, president Joko Widodo of Indonesia, president Peter Mutharika of Malawi and the Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova.
“The selection of these individuals comes at a time when more children are out of school and increased conflict has forced millions of children out of the classrooms to become refugees with no prospects of education,” reads the press release in part.
Efforts to reach Ms Mayanja to comment about her appointment were futile as our repeated calls went unanswered.

Mayanja breif bio
Ms Teopista Birungi Mayanja worked as general secretary Uganda National teachers Union from 2001-2012. She was lecturer Institute of Teacher Education Kyambogo - later Kyambogo University from 1997-2000. In1990 and 1993, she was tutor at Ggaba Primary Teachers Collage where she joined after being Grade 1 head teacher in Mpigi /Wakiso District administration from 1995 to 2001.