Maligning teacher’s image in uncalled for
Teachers have been put to humiliation and derogatory remarks for unknown reasons
BY: Mushtaq Hurra
Periodic trainings are extremely important for government servants because it increases and enhances their capacity building domains. It helps them to retain and renew their skills. It increases the professional abilities of workforce and hence, the organisation they work for, becomes rich and affluent in terms of human resources.
All the multinational companies, corporate and other big business houses impart periodic trainings to their employees through workshops, seminars and orientation programs for better performance and results. And trainings are part and parcel of our school education department. Every year, millions of rupees are spent on teacher-trainings to equip the teachers with modern and latest pedagogies in teaching learning process. And it is indeed very vital to acquaint our teachers with new and latest teaching methodologies for the betterment of our academic standards.
Very recently, my eyes caught sight of an order on a social media platform, issued from Directorate of Samaghra Shiksha Abhiyan, that some 37000 teachers of Jammu and Kashmir have to undergo a month long training program, for which, hundreds of master trainers and key resource persons have been selected to impart the trainings.
But, to the utter surprise and shock of the teaching cadres of Jammu and Kashmir, these thirty seven thousand teachers have been addressed as untrained and unskilled despite the fact that most of them are either holding B. Ed or M. Ed degrees. These teachers are entrusted with the responsibility to groom our children at elementary level. And they are giving their best services.
A billion dollar question pops into the mind of every teacher that if we have teachers who are either 10+2 pass outs or simple graduates, other than these thirty seven thousand teachers, then, why aren’t they supposed to go through these trainings?
A teacher, possessing PG, B. Ed or M. Ed like degrees, is supposed to be untrained that too after serving the department for ten to fifteen years but a simple graduate or a mere 10+2 is supposed to be trained and skilled. Isn’t it discriminatory? It is indeed an irony. The approach of authorities is highly unfortunate, discriminatory, biased and prejudicial.
It is important to mention here that these teachers have been put to humiliation, derogatory remarks and hardships in the past as well. The two year long standoff between these teachers and authorities had ended in August-September 2018 only after the seventh pay commission emoluments were granted to these teachers. This particular teaching community has become the soft target of the people at the helm of affairs.
People should not shoot arrows in the air. SSA borne Rehbari-Taleem teachers have time and again proven their mettle. We have these teachers serving in higher secondary schools, high schools, DIETS and in other important offices.
Most of our district resource persons (DRPs), zonal resource persons (ZRPs), cluster resource persons (CRPs) etc… are SSA borne Rehbari-Taleem teachers. Even these teachers have showcased their talents at state and national levels. Now, government is hell bent to tarnish the dignity of these teachers for none of their faults. It will certainly de-motivate them to give their best.
Blaming these teachers for poor academic standards is something unfair because our academic standards were not better when the SSA scheme was not introduced in our state. Who is unaware about the conditions of our elementary schools during the 1990’s. If seen realistically, these SSA borne teachers have improved the elementary educational standards and increased the enrollment by many notches.
Targeting a particular teaching fraternity is highly ridiculous, disgusting and condemnable. Is a 10+2 laboratory bearer skilled and trained teacher, and a PG, B.Ed is not skillful and untrained. This is the height of hypocrisy and double standard. It is a ploy to malign the image of a particular teaching community in the society. This teaching fraternity is already the victim of wrong social connotations. The terms like SSA and ReT have become obnoxious because people at the helm of affairs have interpreted it wrongly through some conscienceless media houses.
This discriminatory approach of the people at the helm of affairs has most often resulted in uglier deadlocks in the past. Our children have already borne the brunt of this discriminatory approach. Schools were closed for months together in the recent past. Teachers were seen protesting in Srinagar and other district headquarters.
If authorities would not take back these derogatory remarks, then these teachers may again hit the streets. And how will it affect our academic standards, is easy to comprehend. God forbid, if there is another such prolonged deadlock, who will be held responsible then?
We have not yet recompensed the losses to previous deadlocks between the SSA borne Rehbari-Taleem teachers and the government and we are about to witness a new one. Let our commoners, intellectuals, writers and others come forward and upheld the truth. If a PG, B. Ed teacher is Untrained besides holding a rich teaching experience of fifteen years, then who is a trained professional? Hypocrisy has some limits. How come is it true that a PG and B. Ed teacher is untrained and a mere 10+2 passout that too from non-teaching background is trained. Let people at the helm have some brains!
Let authorities remove the terms ‘untrained and unskilled’ from the order or invite only those to the training who are either simple graduates or postgraduates without B. Ed or simple 10+2 passout teachers.
And the teachers from other categories like general line, third teachers, migrant teachers and FAT teachers should also be asked to attend these trainings. Calling 37000 teachers as unskilled and untrained is irresponsible.
Don’t force these teachers to resort to the old tactic of leaving their schools and classrooms. Any indifference from authorities will bear hazardous and injurious consequences on our educational system. I wish good sense to prevail.
(The Writer is a teacher and a columnist. He can be reached at [email protected])
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