The future of a country is shaped in the hands of parents and more importantly, in the hands of the teachers. These days there is a dearth of academically sound, passionate, sincere teachers who genuinely pursue teaching as a career to bring about a positive change in the lives of children and mould the future of this nation.
The present scenario is agonising. The candidates who have been left out of the-Rat-Race seem to be the only ones opting for this pious profession. The minimal salary, long working hours and the ever-increasing workload (unnecessary paperwork) are working as deterrents for the passionate candidates who wish to take up teaching!
Just as we had the Green Revolution in the field of agriculture, we need to revolutionise the teaching profession of our country. First and foremost, the salary should be at par with those of the other professions; and why not…don’t we all want our kids to be taught/mentored by the best professionals in the world! And mind you, the increase in the salary should NOT be synonymous with increase in working hours. The teacher already does enough physical labour with the students and he/she needs time to relax and rejuvenate so that she is ready with a warm smile and an open heart when the child walks into the class, each day…!!
Next, the lost dignity and respect of the teaching fraternity should be restored. Here, I mean the dignity and respect which was bestowed on the gurus in the ancient times and also on our own teachers, till the recent past. The integrity of our teachers was never doubted. Ask any individual who graduated till the late 90s, and they would flood you with stories of corporal punishment meted out to them or their classmates. The teachers were never questioned either by the institution or by the parents, not because the parents were scared that the teacher would spoil the future of their ward, instead the teachers were trusted. If the child dared to complain to the parent, the only answer he/she would get was “I am sure you are either not studying well or done something wrong to get the wrath of your teacher”. By saying this, by no means I advocate corporal punishment. I only wish to bring home the point that no one doubted the credibility of a teacher or a guru in the past.
Since the dawn of this century, the teacher has slowly lost her glory. Today the teaching fraternity is at the mercy of the parents. And it is a major challenge to satiate the expectations of parents. Educators, who were once revered, have become the means to bring home a commodity namely ‘education’. The parents forget that if they do not teach their child to respect the teacher, the child will be unable to hold the teacher in high esteem and benefit from their vast knowledge. This is the reason why today’s child is lost. The deterioration is not only evident in the system but also in the society at large.
I hope that the teaching fraternity is once again revered so that we can pick up the loose threads of the value system in our country before they become too weak and snap off.
I hope that the most honest and dedicated people opt for the teaching profession so that we soon witness the ‘acche din’ which our Prime Minister had envisioned for the country.
I hope that the best of minds take up teaching as their first choice because if their is no teacher, then there aren’t any other professions. Such is the magnanimity of this profession.
Hoping for a better future for the teachers… !! And more so for the future generations of our country!!
p.s. – I wrote this blog not because I am a teacher, but because I want each child to be mentored by the academically sound, passionate and sincere teachers.
The 'indulgent'...bystander 
Charu Ben ,
Really worth indulgent thought for country’s education system by policymakers to upload latest version /app on teachers upgrade as a component of Acche Din….
Best of luck.
🇮🇳🙏
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Certainly the policy makers need to give a total makeover to this profession so that we can lure the best of brains
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Reading through blog Charu Ben leaves with impressions….
Worth indulgent for country’s education system n policy 4 makers involving markers(teachers) to upload latest in 2.0 era for upgrades n upload ……. so a component of Acche Din is achieved.
#May b aware that a nursery school teacher in Netherland is paid equivalent to PM’s salary….where solid foundation laying is intended.
Keep perusing such causes. 👍🏻
Mosi n me
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Teachers lay the foundation of the nation, set the pace for progress and inculcate the value system, so they ought to be given their dues.
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Good one
A great teacher is one who believes in human potential
Love
Chitra Mausi
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Thnx mausi. Yes, a good teacher believes in human potential and her own potential to holistically develop a child’s personality.
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Indeed need of the hour. A society or nation where teachers are not respected and well nourished can not progress or flourish.
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I hope our leaders take the steps in the right direction and make policies accordingly…
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India that is Bharat says our Constitution. Because we have forgotten wisdom of Bharat tt we have teachers/students. Let’s see what Bharat signifies:
Bharati= those striving for the highest illumination are Bharati, irrespective of their religions, caste, gender, nationality, etc.
SUR = Rtm = Righteous conduct = kartavya-palan = Bharati
Vidyarthi=he who has burning desire for Vidya. Do our students have it? NO
Acharya = he who is of good conduct
Wisdom of Bharat = Schooling should focus more on character building, on imbibing spirit of Fundamental Duties Art 51a, of kartavya-palan, work as worship for good of society, being good, better, best.
HOW? Establish young in habit of daily self-development practices, reflection, prayers, meditation, study/discussions, etc. to build powers of mind, viveka, will, self- control, etc, and choose a vocation suited to its natural tendencies or swadharma.
This is the only way we can once again be as great as we were throughout history
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Thanks for sharing your perspective and adding valuable points to my blog. Certainly the habits of reflection, meditation, self-control, etc will help the student to introspect and empower oneself.
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You highlighed very important points
The dignity of Gurus : I completely agree to 90s teaching methods. We ourselves used to bring the famous “santi” from nearby shrubs/trees and for every wrong ans, 2-3 santi’es on our pams. But then never complained to our parents. Now even if i ask teachers to show little-bit of strictness, their is a big NO from them (fear of school authorities).
Parents are so much possessive about the money they use to pay fee, they are now considering the teachers and his/her services as a commodity. And hence not giving any due respect to teachers and the pious profession.
Another important point – Teachers used to come and go with the students , no admin works (execpt class register updations) but now teachers are doing all sorts of (un)wanted work in schools, which might be distracting them from the main task of teachings.
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Yes, even you have highlighted just the right points that you must be experiencing as a parent. The teachers are scared of scolding not because of school authorities but because of over possessive and indulgent parents.
The parents are welcome to point out mistakes and help in improving the system but they should give respect to the teacher in front of their wards. This is part of inculcating values in our child.
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