Moa Jamir
Once again as Teachers’ Day approaches, the usual platitudes are pouring in for the educators.
In his message, Nagaland Governor PB Acharya said the teachers are the backbone of society and play a “great role in building up the character of students and shaping them to become an ideal citizen.”
The future of the society and the nation is moulded by the teachers, stated the Chief Minister TR Zeliang in his glorious homage.
“The best and brightest people in the society are selected for the teaching profession,” he added, urging them to work with renewed energy and dedication to build a “prosperous and just society.”
Such eloquent and magnanimous tributes contrast heavily with the ground realities of the teachers in Nagaland.
On teachers’ day, many teachers are wondering whether the profession they chose was the right decision.
This Teachers’ Day would be “a day of grief and alienation by the authorities, who themselves will be out there somewhere giving their eloquent speeches,” lamented a teachers’ association right on its eve denied of their deserving salaries for 5 months.
A week ago another teachers' association appointed under Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) cried out against their salaries pending for nearly 7 months -- from February 2016 till date.
In the recent past, such issues regularly popped up in the news with the government temporarily placating agitating associations before the next cycle begins. For those teachers, the glowing tributes, without any changes in ground, hold no waters.
Elsewhere in the private sector, the educational sector, like any other entity, is replete with highly skewed remuneration when compared with the government counterpart.
To put it bluntly, most of them are overworked and underpaid. Consequently, many consider the profession as a temporary sojourn before the ultimate homecoming in the form of a government job.
This is also a plausible explanation to our fixation with the government sector. How can you expect the quality of education to improve when the survival and the security of the teachers is at stake, argue various teachers' associations time and again.
As a result, while they diligently come to classes, denied of their incentives, the motivation for teaching, understandably, remains at its lowest ebb.
Joining the bandwagon is the lopsided policy as well as occasional lip-servicing from those at the helms of the affairs regarding the working of the educational system.
Few rotten apples have spoilt the teaching profession by employing ‘proxies’. It is now a perennial problem and assuming a dangerous proportion undermining the whole community.
No proxy teachers after June 30, the Minister of School Education and SCERT, Yitachu categorically assured earlier this year adding that department will be cracking the whip on substitute teachers and banning all contractual/ backdoor appointments.
Follow-up action, if any, by the department in not known.
The multiple teachers’ associations must take action against such malpractice before it becomes detrimental to the progress and credibility of their profession.
The value of teachers in a society is undisputed. A landmark research paper in 2011 underscores the fact that good teacher, among others, not only improves a child's test scores in the classroom but also enhances his or her chances to attend college and future earnings.
According to CNN, the study conducted by economists Raj Chetty and John N. Friedman of Harvard University and Jonah E. Rockoff of Columbia University was one of the largest and most consequential educational studies in recent years tracking more than 2.5 million students over 20 years from a large urban school district from 4th grade to adulthood in United States.
The qualities of teaching have substantial economic and social benefits, in the long run, the study concluded.
These pressing matters need immediate attention. All the stakeholders must wake up to the prevailing crisis before the educational system in Nagaland is thrown into a gutter and education becomes either a commercial venture or quality education becomes a privilege of some fortunate few.
It’s high time to prioritise our flattering education system and be given utmost consideration from those at the helms of the affair - for the benefits and well-being of the economy as well as the society.
Else we may have the best, but most ignored teachers, having ominous ramification for future.
For any comment, drop a line to moajamir@live.com
