IUPsyS- United Nations Activities UNESCO adopts the first international recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel

Abstract

On November 11, 1997, in Paris, The General Conference of UNESCO adopted the first international recommendation concerning university and college professors. This is an important event, since the only other document that concerns teachers, i.e. those of the primary and secondary levels, was adopted in 1966 by UNESCO and IWO. This recommendation considers the rights and responsibilities of those involved in teaching and research. The concepts of academic freedom, institutional autonomy and tenure are presented and defined ; they are recognized as being part of the definition of the working conditions of higher-education teaching personnel. Although not restrictive, this recommendation supplies a general framework to universities and research centers. In view of its importance, you will find in the next paragraphs the unabridged version of this recommendation.