Teachers concerns

The 21st century is upon us and the world has progressed from education within the classroom by teachers who are physically present to online teaching lessons. We now hear of institutions looking for experts in the knowledge management system which in other words means the application of learning to solve most of our human and environmental problems. Technology can never replace a teacher who is present in the flesh and blood. We cannot generalise that all in every profession do their best and uphold the principles of that profession. This is true of teachers too. It was HL Mencken who said, “Those who can do. Those who can’t, teach.’ Many have entered the teaching profession because it is the easiest to get into and when there is nothing else available. That used to be the norm. But things have changed. Today the teaching profession is very demanding even as education has taken on a new meaning. What was perhaps lacking in the profession thus far was an evaluation system for teachers. Once a person is appointed a teacher there is a sense of permanency of tenure which actually adds to the slack and diminishes the performance of the teacher. In other countries, teachers are evaluated by their students, peers and the school/college/university authorities. In India there is a strong resistance by the teaching community to such evaluation of their performances. And there is a cause for concern. Many have spent decades using faulty teaching methods. Others just cannot communicate and leave their students bewildered. But no one can take any action against such incompetent teachers. If Meghalaya is producing university graduates without the basic life skills or the creativity to think independently and innovate then the teachers are in a large part to be blamed. It is also a matter of interest that we have never ever heard teachers talk about improving the quality of education or of trying to find out ways and means of understanding why students don’t perform up to scratch. If ever the teachers have been agitated about anything than it is about their pay and perks (arrears, pay rise, pension etc). This is not to say that teachers do not deserve a better pay packet commensurate to their efforts. They have every right to expect just dues for the great task they have undertaken. But the flip side is that education in Meghalaya, as many teachers themselves have admitted has gone on a downslide. Has anyone ever asked why? Many of those who teach today have themselves been taught by excellent teachers who perhaps were paid much less and enjoyed lesser facilities. But they taught well and gave their best. Do we have such committed teachers today? And can we be sure that if even if they got all their dues that they would excel in their profession? Look at the prime central university we have in Meghalaya. The take-home pay of NEHU teachers is the envy of many but are the students getting their due? These are thoughts that teachers would require to be mulling about before promoting a sense of militant aggressiveness to project their grievances.