Editor,
This year 2011, Teacher’s Day will be deeply etched in my heart as one of the saddest days of my life. To see my dear teachers tearing themselves out of their classrooms and go out into the streets to obtain their dues is not a pretty sight to behold. It is soul wrenching to see them having to resort to this path to achieve an objective that should have come naturally to them. The government has to shoulder the full responsibility if the performance of students falls because of the ongoing agitation. Our teachers have had to endure deprivation on for many years. They had avoided the agitational path as they did not want the students to be at the receiving end. If the government really cares about the welfare of the students they should come all out to address the issues of the teachers. Without teachers we would be like children without any parents.
In Meghalaya teachers at all levels have struggled for their just dues. Our state would continue to be backward if no importance is given to education. We need to salvage the reputation of Shillong as the education hub of the north-east. This can only happen if and only when our teachers obtain the benefits due to them. It is baffling to know that school teachers go for months on end without salary. Did we choose such callous and unscrupulous representatives to be at the helm of affairs? Teachers of higher education in Assam, West Bengal and other states enjoy a much better status than the teachers in Meghalaya. The adamant attitude of our government towards the teacher’s plight is bound to have severe repercussions on development and law and order in the state. As a student I implore upon the government not to treat my teachers as children of a lesser God! We want our teachers to be back in the classroom where they belong.
Please end this impasse!
Yours etc.,
Reuben Shabong,
Via email
Taking the public for granted
Editor,
The state government keeps reaffirming off and on that it exists for the needs of the citizen, but it does not appear to be so when it comes to the behaviour of government employees. I happened to witness an incident at the establishment branch of the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) where a nurse was enquiring about the status and position of vacant promotional posts for her grade, only to be ignored by the lady sitting in the chair. This shows that either such employees are present only to warm their chairs and get paid for doing nothing or perhaps to be rude with members of the public who come to enquire about certain official matters. I would like to pose this question – how expensive is the chair of an employee who cannot behave with the public?
I hope that the authorities at the DHS office address such uncalled for behaviour and teach a lesson or two to their office staff about public relations management. Any guesses what would had happened if the lady concerned was employed in the corporate sector?
Yours etc.,
Dominic S. Wankhar
Shillong- 3
