I attended a demonstration at the Islamabad Press Club a few weeks back. It was held by the Private Schools Association of Islamabad. They, including I, were protesting the continued closure of schools while everything else has been opened. For example, offices, markets, banquet halls … even mosques. So why the closure on schools ? So there were two slogans being shouted … Taleem ko Izzat Do … and … Ustaad ko Izzat Do …
It kind of resonated with Maryam Nawaz’s Vote ko Izzat Do … for we all know what that Izzat actually means. In other words, it means that forget our corruption and reinstate the Pakistan Muslim League of Pakistan. P.S. Not just any PML but particularly PML-N … yes that’s right ! Now the democracy is complete !
Well, I could somewhat agree with the slogan … Taleem ko Izzat Do … but the slogan … Ustaad ko Izzat Do … had a strange ring to it. Now the interesting fact is that I myself am a teacher, and who does not desire respect for one’s profession ? But the question stands, do we, ourselves respect our profession ourselves ? Why did I choose to become a teacher ? Was I a bored housewife sitting at home with nothing to do so I decided to become a teacher ? Were our home expenses running a bit tight so my husband started nagging me to become a teacher and share the expenses ? Was I a failure in my professional career and decided to become a teacher if nothing else ? Note the word professional … that is used for all professions except the teaching profession ! By the way, have you ever heard of a teaching institute, college or university in Pakistan ? Where they would teach one to become a teacher ? None. There are budding some small departments within organizations who are conducting some short courses and workshops about teaching … but we still have a long, long way to go …
Well, why do you think there aren’t any teaching colleges ? Why do you think teaching is not considered a profession ? Even if, why do you think teaching is not respected as a profession ? The billion dollar answer is… there is not much money in it. So like all fake and façade relations of our society, the profession of teaching is also now measured upon the scales of money. If the money is good, we quickly switch to the Prophetic Hadith …
‘The prophets do not leave behind themselves dirhim and dinar but they have left the legacy of scholarship …’
meaning that the scholars and teachers are the heirs of the prophets.
Once the money has been secured, we now seek to secure respect as well.
The question is, who is it who evaluates the teaching profession in terms of money ? The teachers or the society ? The answer is both. If the son says one fine day that he would like to become a teacher when he grows up … the parents almost have an heart attack. What ? School teacher ? Are you a sissy ? There is no money in it ! There you go … the first link up of education to money. Next, let us have a look at the teacher him/herself. One fine day, s/he is working as a teacher in a school, and the mobile bell rings … bingo ! Someone is calling with a job offer of a few thousands more … rap ! The heir to prophet hood drops the pens and papers and rushes out to put up his/her resignation. It won’t matter if the school is in the middle of the academic session. It won’t matter if the final exams are just around the corner. It won’t matter if the teacher had just newly been hired and the school had just sighed a sigh of relief to have placed a teacher in the said class. It won’t matter if the students have already built an emotional connection with the teacher. The dollar bills in the eyes blinds the teacher to ethics, love and everything.
They say love is blind ? Well, money also makes blind ... !
Another question is … is the quest for money all that bad ? Do not teachers have the right to dream of a comfortable and luxurious life ? Of course they do, like everyone else … but the issue is, who will pay that salary ? The teacher’s salary is generated from the student’s fees. Are the parents willing to pay a good fees to see a good teacher standing in their child’s classroom ? Our society is happy to pay thousands upon dinners, clothes, entertainment, etc, but if the school fee is running into thousands, they get a seizure ! So who will pay ? Will the government pay ? Our governments are happy to pay the ministers’ electricity charges, petrol tokens and medical bills from London, but when schools, teachers and education have to be funded, the national treasury is empty !
But lets imagine utopia. Our teacher’s begin to get a five to six digit salary … will they start teaching in the class ? Will they start following instructions ? Will they start working hard ? Will they stop ignoring students ? Will they stop humiliating students ? Will they stop doing personal work during office time ? Will they stop using mobile phone during class ? Will they stop switching jobs for a few thousand more ? Will they stop ogling at the ‘free’ summer salary or step forward to work ahead ? Will they become committed to the cause and mission of educating the Muslim nation back to the Ottoman days of glory ? Well, an increment in the salaries of the government school teachers has not seen much …
The fact of the matter is that the greed for money and a materialistic mentality has corrupted the entire Muslim nation, and that is exactly what Prophet Muhammed Pbuh feared about us since fourteen hundred years. And that is why there is an allegation upon the schools and teachers that they are protesting the closure of schools not so much because they are worried about the academic loss of students but because of the loss of fees income and due salaries. Is that true ? All of us need to look within ourselves and find the truth. When we as a nation and as teachers, will start respecting education, the respect for teachers and the bounties by Allah Almighty will come by themselves.
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